World Cup 2022 - How to handle it in the workplace

The world’s biggest football tournament is back, and as always, questions are being asked about how to prepare for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

There are of course, some subtle differences this year, with the most obvious one being the time of year, meaning rather than watching the games in short sleeves and beautiful sunshine, maybe even installing an outdoor screen for some, instead it will be warm clothing and keeping electronics inside.

With being in such a diverse country, there are many different nations to be considered, and one thing that you must be fair about, is that whatever rules you set, it must be across the board. However, for the purpose of this blog, we are going to concentrate on the two home nations that are there, England and Wales.

Initially there are three dates to look out for, they are Monday 21st November with England playing Iran at 1pm and Wales facing the United States at 7pm. This is followed on Friday 25th November with Iran the opponents for Wales this time at 10am and England face the USA at 7pm. The final group game is Tuesday 29thNovember at 7pm when England and Wales face each other.

All three have potential for people to take time off work with Mondays traditionally being the most common sick day and Fridays people wanting to not be at work at all. The big game when the two face each other also has possibilities of people looking to at least spend the afternoon building up to the game in the pub, but much may depend what is on the game at that stage.

So, what is the best way to handle the potential issues which arise? You must do what is best for the business. That doesn’t necessarily mean a need to ignore staff desire to watch the game, and continue working, as you have to consider engagement and goodwill within the workforce too.

Some of the options you may want to consider are:

1)    Installing the TV in the office and having most games on in the background, with the England and Wales game giving staff the opportunity for lunch times to be taken and the time to be made up, and maybe if you are feeling generous, bring food and drink into the company for all to enjoy together and use it as a team building exercise.

2)    Offering holidays to be taken out of the yearly entitlement but explaining that you can’t overexpose the business or departments themselves meaning that only a certain number can be used.

3)    Unpaid leave can be taken as per above.

Whichever way you do choose, insure you set out clear rules from the start, things to consider are regarding alcohol consumption, what people wear, including if football shirts are acceptable, plus other pitfalls that you may encounter, including previous experiences.

If you would like any further advice, please call 01952 288361 or visit the Human Results Website.