Gulf football fans plan to work tired during World Cup: survey

Football fans in the UAE and GCC are looking forward to sleepless nights in the weeks ahead with the start of the World Cup 2014 on Thursday.

In a survey by online recruitment firm GulfTalent, more than half of all Gulf employees admit they will be heading in to work tired after staying up to watch the late-night games, which might affect overall worker productivity.

The tournament, which kicks off in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July, will be aired live in the Middle East each day between 8pm to 4am in the UAE  (7pm to 3am in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon).

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The survey of 18,000 participants asked employees how they planned to balance watching the games with their work commitments the next day. 10% said that they would go to work late, while a similar number will take a day of annual leave after watching late night matches.

Some (3%) even admitted they will call in sick, while one-third said they will cut on their sleep and power through to make it to work on time.

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Belgium fan and Dubai resident Simon Thurston says he's going to be stocking up on coffee to make it through the day.

"All three of Les Diables Rouges' games have been kind to me time-wise, with two 8pm kick-offs and one at midnight. That said, I'll be watching as many of the other matches as I can and will still manage to get to work the next day, although I envisage my coffee intake increasing substantially!

Fellow football fan Daniel Evans already has a game plan for the key matches.

"For England v Italy, I will sleep from 10pm - 1:30am before the game from 2am - 4am. Then, sleep from 4am - 7am then go to work on Sunday!"

But the World Cup fever doesn’t end there. One third of workers say they will be spend time discussing the games or catching up on the latest during the day.

IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY

Employers are also preparing for the potential drop in productivity, the survey said. Some expressed concern, while others were more optimistic about the impact of the games, saying the tournament could even boost morale.

However, Mideast companies will not be as severely affected as the rest of the world, particularly as most games will be outside of work hours.

RAMADAN HOURS

This year half the tournament falls within the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin June 28.  Working hours are typically reduced by two hours during the month to accommodate the fasting times.

Some survey participants said these reduced hours will allow them to sleep after work and be up in time for the games.

 How will you be watching the matches? Will you be heading to work tired? Tell us in the comments