Picture the scene. It’s 7am, Thursday, June 18 and your alarm is hammering your brain with the might of Thor’s Hammer. You hammer back and send it hurtling off the edge of the bedside table. Nope – not today, you think, recalling the ninth pint of lager at your local last night after England’s opening World Cup match. You are not going to work today.
It’s looking like this will be the case for nearly half of under-35s, who admitted to the firm VoucherCodes they’ll phone in sick after a late-night match. According to the company’s research, tomorrow morning will see the largest dip in “productivity” across the entire tournament.
They calculate that due to the amount of bevs sunk during the tournament, last-minute mysterious ‘coughs’ and brutal post-match hangovers will drive a loss of 2.5 million working days, wiping up to £875 million from the UK economy.
Many of us Brits will adopt a sneaky strategy – 61% of us are going to log on from home and essentially stay “logged on” while doing absolutely nothing. These are called ‘soft off days’ – ingenious!
Post-boozy Brits are also expected to snap up 5.2 million extra coffees and hangover breakfasts as a result of late-night kick-offs, helping to fuel a wave of next-day spending worth around £30 million as those few good eggs soldier on through the commute.
The signs for a nationwide spread of skivers are already there – according to research from Haypp, searches for ‘good excuses to miss work on short notice’ have increased by over 5,000% on Google in the last seven days as we head toward England’s first game.
Markus Lindblad, Head of Legal and External Affairs at Haypp said: “It is fascinating to see such overwhelming support for a national holiday. However, the data also highlights the disruption this could cause, with a significant number of employees, particularly younger generations, admitting they may call in sick to recover from late-night matches.
“Employers might want to consider how they can support their teams during this period, whether through flexible working arrangements or other initiatives, to balance enthusiasm with productivity.”
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