Jul 7, 2014
The World Cup, Wimbledon and soon the Commonwealth Games have Australian sport fans up at all hours. Are we losing anything apart from sleep? Freelance writer (and avid World Cup watcher) Hari Raj reports.
The day before his team took on Germany in their final group-stage game of the World Cup, United States soccer team manager Jurgen Klinsmann tweeted a cheerful request for bosses to let their employees have the day off. The note, officially sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation, swiftly went viral.
Support for the national side is one thing, but productivity losses during major sporting events are a major concern for employers. A much-quoted InsideView projection had the US economy losing US$121.7 million during the 2010 World Cup due to Americans’ viewing habits. This year’s tournament has drawn record numbers of viewers — and record numbers of sick days.
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Hep! Flexibility in work hours is the name of the game. Pity the ACTU doesn’t agree.
The doubly dubious Anne Coulter opined, “I can assure you that nobody whose grandfather was born here is interested in the World Cup!” So that’s that, Angry Old White men and ..wotever Coulter is, agree.
Oh boo-hoo.
I still hold to the (quaint) belief that not everything in one’s life is about profit (either one’s own or someone else’s)