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Despite predictions that the late World Cup kick off times would lead to lots of UK employees phoning in sick, analysis of the work attendance of over 180,000 people suggests it isn’t a big trend.
Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, employment experts cautioned that sick absences could spike as UK fans stay up late to catch the games in Canada, Mexico and the US.
But Breathe HR analysed sick absence data from more than 186,200 UK workers and found incidents of being off work sick did not spike the day after the first England match on 17 June.
It found that only 0.72% of workers were off sick on 18 June, less than the number of workers who were off on the previous two Thursdays: 0.80% of workers called in sick on 11 June, and 0.79% were out sick on 4 June.
Bharat Siyani, VP of people and culture at Breathe HR, said:
“Headlines have painted Brits as a nation of chancers, willing to pull a fast one on their employers and call in sick the day after World Cup games. However, our data suggests footie fans aren’t letting the festivities impact their work attendance, with no spike in absences following England’s winning first match. If this trend continues as the tournament unfolds, it will be good news for employers bracing for a sickie spike this World Cup season.
“Today’s abysmal job market may be why workers are seemingly turning over a new leaf this tournament. We know workers are ‘job-hugging’ amid the uncertain climate. It’s not a huge leap to imagine that those in employment are looking at the job market and choosing not to do anything that could put their job at risk. Workers who may have come down with “footie fever” in the past may not be willing to chance it this time around.”
