Bosses call foul on World Cup shirking

• Source: Global Times
• [15:05 June 11 2010]
• Comments

By Zhou Ping

Soccer fans hoping for leniency from their employers so they can come into work late after watching 2010 FIFA World Cup matches the night before are facing an uphill struggle.

With some matches scheduled at 2:30 am local time, fans have been discussing on Inter-net forums how best to plead the case for starting work later, so they can get enough sleep after staying up to watch the action. But dozens of local companies the Global Times talked to Thursday said workers will face a yellow card if they are not at their desks on time the night after matches, and they won't be accepting World Cup fever as a valid excuse for absence.

"We won't allow staff to start work later, just because of the World Cup, and those who have a poor attendance record will be punished as usual," Wang Changxing, a media representative at the Shanghai Electric Power Company, said. "We've reminded our staff not to let the World Cup interrupt their daily work."

Zhang Rong, the marketing manager of a BMW dealership, was prepared to give some leeway to staff. "If all my employees come to ask for leave so they can watch the matches, I will reject some of the applications," said Zhang, "I will let some employees start later than usual on the condition that the department runs normally."

Soccer fans said they weren't surprised that many bosses won't relent.

"I think companies that allow their employees to start working one hour later than usual must have a boss who is a football fan," Xu Min, a member of staff at Funjoin, a public relation company, told the Global Times Thursday.

"I want to ask for leave, but my workload won't allow me," he added. "But since most matches are broadcast outside of work hours, it is favorable to us fans. I may just miss one or two matches."

However, a lucky few will get to see at least one match, courtesy of their employer. "Our director will take us to have a BBQ and watch the opening match between South Africa and Mexico," a member of staff at the Shanghai branch of Ogilvy Interactive surnamed Wei said.

As the tournament advances to the later stages, the temptation to skip work may become too much to resist.

"I don't think many fans will ask for leave during the group stages, but more will for the quarter-finals," Sun Ming, a local company employee, said.

"I expect there will be many 'sick days' among soccer fans in the coming weeks," said Karl Pereira, a Shanghai-based soccer fan from Malaysia.

Li Xiang and Jonathan DeHart contributed to this story