The Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly poll, shows that 29% of small-medium enterprise owners are worried about staff absenteeism and 21% of owners are additionally concerned about lower productivity during the tournament.

As the poll was conducted in the United Kingdom, the worries and concerns of business owners might be primarily linked to those across the Atlantic and Pacific, as there are only a couple hours difference between the time in Brazil and those in Mexico, the continental United States, and Canada. Due to the time difference, fans wanting to watch the the matches as they occur will be forced to watch the matches during the late night hours due to the time difference. For this reason, small to medium sized business owners are concerned about increased authorized absences as the tournament of the summer runs its course.

Furthermore, the poll revealed that within the transport industry, about 40% of owners expected employees to request additional time off or other arrangements such as flex time or special hours during the World Cup. However, 45% of owners did admit to their willingness to cooperate with staff and make arrangements for flexible hours or a temporary adjustments to shifts so the staff can watch the matches.

Some experts have noted that it’s possible for owners to take the World Cup and use it to their advantage, and they do not necessarily need to be too concerned or worried about the World Cup’s effect on their long-term business goals. These experts note that small perks such as allowing for time off of flexible hours to watch the matches, or if that isn’t possible, keeping a television tuned to the matches in a common area may provide a more pleasing atmosphere. Yes, employees may stop for a couple minutes or take a glance at the action, but overall workplace productivity and employee morale will be be raised.

As a business owner and being involved in the freight forwarding industry, do our members have any thoughts or concerns about the World Cup and how it might affect them? As the poll was conducted in the United Kingdom, it might be particularly interesting to find what our members in South America, particularly Brazil, but other South American countries like Chile or Argentina think about employees requesting time off or flexible hours during the 2014 World Cup.

Send your comments or opinions to shane@x2elite.com. If we have sufficient feedback, we would like to publish our member’s opinion on this subject.