Are Mancunians the biggest England fans? 

A third of workers in Manchester plan to watch every England World Cup game, even during work hours 

·        Millions of workers plan to call in sick if England make the semi-finals 

7.5m workers (25%) are planning to watch England in every World Cup game, even during work hours. Mancunians are the most likely to watch the Lions, followed by Geordies, then surprisingly Glaswegians, and Londoners.  

With the first England match on Monday 21^st November at 1pm against Iran, this could cost UK businesses a whopping £884m in lost hours on that day, based on average earnings. 34% have said they’ll book the time off work, whilst almost three quarters won’t.  

The study, by office furniture suppliers, Furniture At Work, asked 2,000 UK workers their plans for watching the games, including if they were planning to skive or book time off work. 

Cities who will watch every England game: 

1.     Manchester (33%) 

2.     Newcastle (31) 

3.     Glasgow (30%) 

4.     London (29%) 

5.      Birmingham (26%) 

Only 1 in 10 workplaces have offered workers flexible hours to accommodate World Cup viewing, while almost 7 million workers (23%) said they won’t be able to watch any games during working hours. 

When it comes to which professions are most dedicated, people who work in energy & utilities (43%), media (40%) and law enforcement (38%) are most likely to watch every England game, even during work hours.   

If England reach the semi-finals, over 1.2 million UK workers have said they’ll call in sick to watch it (4%), with people in Southampton most likely to do so, followed by workers in Manchester and Sheffield.  

If England reach the mighty heights of the final, 1.5 million workers have admitted they’ll make any excuse to miss work to watch England. 

When it comes to other matches, a fifth of workers (20%) said they’ll have the World Cup games on as much as possible whilst trying to work.  

Lisa Silcock, a HR partner and manager, has some advice for businesses around the World Cup:  

“When it comes to the events like the World Cup, which you know people are excited about, it’s important companies engage with staff rather than ignore it. 

“This could be by letting staff have some time off to enjoy the matches or letting a television play in the background for important games. Be ready for everyone to be distracted and reschedule the company’s workflow around matches to ensure you’re not hitting peak demand just when the kick off starts. 

“Go one step further by setting up a meeting room with a TV on and some snacks! Or make it fun and engaging through a World Cup sweepstake, tracking progress with a fixtures list on a noticeboard.  

“It’s also important to note that the UK workforce is multicultural. Factor this in and be considerate to other nationalities and use this to help with scheduling work.” 

A spokesperson from Furniture at Work commented:  

“With the World Cup only coming around once every four years, it’s always a big deal to football fans. And it’s interesting to see how many won’t let their work get in the way of watching the England games!  

“The first match alone could cost UK businesses £884m in lost hours, with people choosing to watch it over doing work, something which can be easily done with so many now working from home.” 

Furniture at Work has also looked at how this loss of productivity might impact businesses across the world. Click here to find out more: https://www.furniture-work.co.uk/blog/uncategorized/how-much-will-the-world-cup-cost-businesses-around-the-world-in-lost-productivity/