Three Lions on a skive - did you let your staff watch the football?
Thursday 24 June 2010 by Paul Rogerson
Apologies for trespassing on this space – not normally my domain. But I am curious. This afternoon saw the latest instalment of what we at the Gazette have dubbed ‘Carry On England’, a quadrennial tale of preening dilettantes and music-hall slapstick that always seems to end with John Bull weeping into his pint. Some us have never quite recovered from the trauma of David Seaman’s ponytail.
But hang on! We won. So this year? Who knows.
Many employers bowed to the seemingly inevitable and issued guidance that staff could watch the game if they agreed with managers to make up the time later. A sensible policy, surely, though doubtless one of the small business pressure groups will work out that 0.1% (or whatever) will be shaved off June’s GDP in consequence.
It occurred to me, however, that in legal practice, where the billable hour endures and small firms in particular can often need ‘all hands on deck’, it’s not so straightforward.
Then there’s the issue of discriminating against those for whom the national game is a matter of supreme indifference (more people than you might imagine, despite the sudden ubiquity of the George Cross). Why should they cover for those who do slope off for the afternoon – even if the absentees do make up the time later on?
What if you’ve got a Kiwi working for you, or a Honduran; must they be granted the same latitude? And what about people who would indeed like to take time out thank you very much – but to watch Roger Federer defend his Wimbledon title?
It pays to be flexible where you can, certainly in terms of staff morale. And who doesn’t want to be popular?
What would Harvard Business School recommend, I wonder. That all games be played in the evenings or at weekends, perhaps. The good news for managers is that – in England’s case at least – the rest of the tournament will be.
Comments
England World Cup Match - Time Off
Yesterday, for the England vs Slovenia match, the directors at Disklabs, (a computer forensics company based in the Midlands), allowed everyone to leave the office at 2pm, giving them all time to go home or to whereever they wished to watch the match and enjoy the fun.
We didnt ask them to make up hours. Sometimes, its just good to be good.
Dont worry, after Sundays
Dont worry, after Sundays thrashing of our Team we won't need any more time off.
Incidentally, is it just me or are the managers of the top UK teams at fault for why England will not win the World Cup for decades to come - for buying in foreign players and squeezing out any chance of bringing on UK players. Shame on them!
I think it's got more to do
I think it's got more to do with the battle-hardened South American teams, by far the best performers so far, playing in a much tougher qualifying group. 18 games to play and no minnows. To qualify England generally have to avoid losing to a former Soviet satellite or two and beat a mountain-top (Andorra, San Marino)
Goodwill from staff
Call centre staff can take a few hours off to watch the match on the tv we have in our recreation area. Those that aren't interested are being paid extra to cover. It's a small expense for us but we get a lot of goodwill in return - everybody seems happy.
World Cup
I work for a British law firm, Underwoods Solicitors/ Law Abroad, in SA and can't think that some law firms did not give their employees time off, not only were we allowed to watch the football and got time off we were given tickets and taken by Kerry Underwood to the Semi Final in Cape Town last night! What an experience and what a lovely suprise!!
World Cup
I work for a British law firm, Underwoods Solicitors/ Law Abroad, in SA and can't think that some law firms did not give their employees time off, not only were we allowed to watch the football and got time off we were given tickets and taken by Kerry Underwood to the Semi Final in Cape Town last night! What an experience and what a lovely suprise!!
World Cup
I work for a British law firm, Underwoods Solicitors/ Law Abroad, in SA and can't think that some law firms did not give their employees time off, not only were we allowed to watch the football and got time off we were given tickets and taken by Kerry Underwood to the Semi Final in Cape Town last night! What an experience and what a lovely suprise!!
Kerry Underwood and Robert
Kerry Underwood and Robert Males (from Underwoods Solicitors, Hemel Hempstead) had us leave early for the South African as well as the England games. We are in their South African office trading as Law Abroad plc (doing offshore legal work for England Solicitors).
Kerry Underwood surprised us yesterday by organizing a live interview with David Eaves on BBC World in Cape Town with the view on Green Point Stadium and Robben Island whereafter he took us to the semi-final game between Netherlands and Uruguay!
I can't believe some law firms in England didn't even let staff go home early to watch the England games - from a very happy South African employee working for a remarkable law firm!!!!
Kerry Underwood and Robert
Kerry Underwood and Robert Males (from Underwoods Solicitors, Hemel Hempstead) had us leave early for the South African as well as the England games. We are in their South African office trading as Law Abroad plc (doing offshore legal work for England Solicitors).
Kerry Underwood surprised us yesterday by organizing a live interview with David Eaves on BBC World in Cape Town with the view on Green Point Stadium and Robben Island whereafter he took us to the semi-final game between Netherlands and Uruguay!
I can't believe some law firms in England didn't even let staff go home early to watch the England games - from a very happy South African employee working for a remarkable law firm!!!!
Kerry Underwood and Robert
Kerry Underwood and Robert Males (from Underwoods Solicitors, Hemel Hempstead) had us leave early for the South African as well as the England games. We are in their South African office trading as Law Abroad plc (doing offshore legal work for England Solicitors).
Kerry Underwood surprised us yesterday by organizing a live interview with David Eaves on BBC World in Cape Town with the view on Green Point Stadium and Robben Island whereafter he took us to the semi-final game between Netherlands and Uruguay!
I can't believe some law firms in England didn't even let staff go home early to watch the England games - from a very happy South African employee working for a remarkable law firm!!!!
World Cup Final Ticket
Well guys - beat this......
My employers Underwoods Solicitors have allowed all staff members time off from work to travel home and watch all the England games. In addition, I, as a reward for being their trainee of the year, am being flown out (along with my wife) to Johannesburg tonight to watch the final on Sunday!
Fantastic surprise when I was told about it last week! Thank you to Robert Males and Kerry Underwood, who's comments and photographs are usually a common occurrence in the Obiter section of the Gazette, particularly if there is a celebrity within eyesight!