Some staff expected to call in sick to watch World Cup games, survey finds

Responses from 7,000 professionals in the Middle East reveal 41 per cent of employees are likely to watch matches during office hours

Canada's defender #22 Richie Laryea falls after a challange by Belgium's midfielder #06 Axel Witsel during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group F football match between Belgium and Canada. AFP

Belgium's midfielder #18 Amadou Onana (L) and Canada's midfielder #21 Jonathan Osorio. AFP

Belgium's forward #23 Michy Batshuayi and Canada's midfielder #15 Ismael Kone fight for the ball. AFP

Spain's Marco Asensio celebrates scoring their second goal with Dani Olmo. Reuters

Takuma Asano (R) of Japan scores the second goal of his team against German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. EPA

A Mexico fan waving their country's flag on Doha's Corniche. Reuters

Canada's Alphonso Davies has his penalty saved by Belgium's Thibaut Courtois. Reuters

A firework and drone show over the water. Reuters

Fans of Canada enjoy the pre match atmosphere prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Belgium and Canada at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Getty Images

Gavi and Aymeric Laporte celebrate Spain's fifth goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group E football match between Spain and Costa Rica at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha. AFP

Ferran Torres celebrates with his teammates after scoring Spain's third goal from the penalty spot in their 7-0 thumping of Costa Rica at Al Thumama Stadium. AFP

Costa Rica fans inside the stadium before the group E match. Little did they know what was to come. Reuters

Anthony Contreras (L) keeps his eye on the ball as he fights for it with Spain midfielder Gavi. AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo training with the Portugal squad on the eve of the group H World Cup match against Ghana. AP

Fans enjoy the build-up to the Spain v Costa Rica match. EPA

A Costa Rica fan is keyed up before the World Cup group E match against Spain at Al Thumama Stadium. AP

Fans in party mode as they arrive for Spain v Costa Rica. EPA

Maya Yoshida celebrates after Ritsu Doan scores Japan's equaliser against Germany, the Japanese going on to win 2-1 at Khalifa International Stadium. AP

Assistant referee Zachari Zeegelaar checks the captain's armband of German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer before the group E tussle with Japan. EPA

Germany's starting 11 pose for the team pre-match photo. EPA

Fans arrive at the stadium prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Germany and Japan at Khalifa International Stadium. Getty Images

Japan supporters cheer before the World Cup group E match between against Germany. AP

(L-R) Marcelo Brozovic, Selim Amallah and Dejan Lovren vie for the ball as Morocco and Croatia drew 0-0. AP

Morocco fans turned Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor red for the match against Croatia. AP

Croatia's Mario Pasalic lunges for the ball. AP

Brazil fans jump for joy on Doha Corniche in Qatar. AP

Morocco fans at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. EPA

Morocco's Hakim Ziyech, left, and Romain Saiss warm up ahead of their World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match against Croatia at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha. AFP

Croatia's defender Josko Gvardiol warms up for the Group F game against Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium. AFP

Croatia fans hold aloft cutouts of forward Marko Livaja and midfield legend Luka Modric ahead of the Group F match against Morocco. AFP

An aerial view of displays of giant Croatian and Moroccan flags at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, ahead of their Group F clash. AFP

A Morocco supporter wearing a lion mask for the game against Croatia. The Moroccan team's nickname is The Atlas Lions. AFP

Morocco supporters draped in their country's flag ahead of the Croatia game. AFP

Croatia supporters wait for kick-off in their match against Morocco. AFP

Fans in co-ordinated T-shirts show their support for Morocco. AFP

Croatia's star midfielder 10 Luka Modric warms up ahead of the Group F match against Morocco. AFP

Live updates on World Cup

Many employees across the Middle East are likely to call in sick or take annual leave to watch the World Cup, a survey of 7,000 professional has found.

Recruitment firm GulfTalent contacted people across different industries in nine countries in the Middle East. Based on their findings, they warned employers to expect a slowdown in their operations in November and December.

According to the survey findings, 77 per cent of employees in the region plan to watch at least some of the games, including 41 per cent who will do so during office hours.

Of these, roughly one third expected to be given permission to watch the games. However, one in six said they would secretly watch the games by live streaming them on their computers or smartphones.

Sixteen per cent of employees said they would take annual leave to watch the games and 2 per cent said they would simply call in sick to see their favourite teams play.

The survey showed that employees working remotely are twice as likely to call in sick to watch the games, compared to those working in the office full-time.

The survey also polled employers, whose reactions varied widely.

Some said they would enforce stricter attendance monitoring systems and give warnings to staff but others said they would give staff a level of controlled flexibility to work and watch matches.

Some staff respondents said they were permitted to take time off on days when business was slow and they could submit requests for time off to watch particular games.

Some companies have set up TV screens in the office for collective game watching at certain times or plan to take employees out to watch the games after office hours as a team-building initiative.

Travel to Qatar

Of survey respondents outside Qatar, 16 per cent plan to travel to the country to watch some games.

One fifth of these were regular World Cup visitors, having attended some previous tournaments.

For the overwhelming majority, however, this would be their first World Cup given that the host country is in the region. People travelling to Qatar are expected to take an average of one week of annual leave.

Emiratis are the most likely to visit, with one in three Emirati respondents planning to travel to Qatar. This was followed by citizens of Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, where one in four respondents stated their intention to travel.

The lowest attendance percentage was for Saudis, with just one in five respondents planning to visit Qatar despite the presence of the Saudi national team in the tournament.

Among the Gulf’s major expatriate groups, Indian and Pakistani professionals are the main segments expected to attend the games in significant numbers.