As many as one in seven young men have admitted that they’ll take a sickie when the World Cup kicks off in June – a faux-illness humorously nicknamed World Cup-itis, according to research by workplace issues expert Croner.
The survey, which was compiled for Croner by YouGov, found that 13% of men – compared to only 4% of women – said they have called in sick to watch a football match, or to recover from match-related drinking the night before.
Unsurprisingly, the younger the respondent, the more likely they are to call in sick on a match day, with 16% of men and women aged between 18 and 29 admitting to taking unauthorised absences for major sporting events.
As many of the matches fall during working hours, Croner has predicted that football related sickies will have a major effect on businesses. As a result, it advises employers to relax the rules to allow employees to watch matches in the office.
It also suggests that employers should give employees special advice on the procedure for taking time off to watch sporting events.
Employment services director at Croner Richard Smith, said: “Absence management always features high on employers' lists of concerns around major spectator events like Wimbledon, the Olympics, and of course the imminent World Cup.
“Rather than worry about employees being struck down with World Cup-itis on match days, they should be thinking of how temporarily relaxing the rules can have positive returns for their business.”
© Crimson Business ltd. 2006
