Title:Staff productivity to take a hit during World Cup 2018

DUBAI – Employers across the Middle East are set to witness a major productivity drop during June and July this year as a result of the 2018 football World Cup, according to a survey by online recruitment firm GulfTalent.

在线招聘公司GulfTalent的一项调查显示，整个中东的雇主们今年6月和7月将目睹2018年足球世界杯带来的生产率大幅下降。

The tournament, due to be played in Russia from June 14 to July 15, will run each day between 2pm to 1am UAE time (1pm to 12 midnight in Saudi Arabia).

这次比赛将于6月14日至7月15日在俄罗斯举行，从下午2时至凌晨1时将每天举行。

Interest across the Arab world in this year's FIFA World Cup is running high, as teams from an unprecedented four Arab countries have qualified for the international competition. The participation of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, including its star striker Mohamed Salah, has particularly heightened Gulf and Arab interest in the games. The presence of large numbers of expatriates in the region, many from countries represented in the tournament, is further ramping up excitement.

阿拉伯世界对今年国际足联世界杯的兴趣正在高涨，因为来自前所未有的四个阿拉伯国家的团队有资格参加国际竞赛。沙特阿拉伯和埃及，包括其星际前锋穆罕默德·萨拉赫的参与，特别提高了海湾和阿拉伯人对比赛的兴趣。该地区有许多外籍人士，其中许多人来自参加过锦标赛的国家，这进一步振奋了球迷。

The heightened euphoria around the games this year, combined with the fact that many matches will be played during Middle East working hours and can be watched by live streaming on smartphones, is set to make the impact on productivity particularly severe this year.

今年奥运会带来的兴奋性增强，加上中东工作时间将举办很多比赛，可以通过智能手机直播观看，今年将会对生产力产生特别严重的影响。

Based on GulfTalent's survey findings, 92 percent of employees in the region plan to watch at least some of the games. On a gender basis, the percentage is slightly lower among women at 84%, as compared with 93% of men.

根据GulfTalent的调查结果，该地区92%的雇员计划至少观看一些比赛，从性别角度看，女性比例稍低，为84%，而男性为93%。

Of the employees surveyed across the region 28%, or more than one in four, admitted planning to watch some of the games during working hours. Of these, roughly one third expected that they would be given permission to watch the games, while a quarter said they would secretly watch the games by live streaming them on their computers or smartphones.

在全地区被调查的员工中，有28%的人接受了在工作时间观看某些比赛的计划。其中，大约三分之一的人预计他们会得到观看游戏的许可，四分之一的人说，他们会通过电脑或智能手机实况转播秘密观看比赛。

Other strategies employees reported they would use to watch the games during working hours, include requesting a full day of annual leave, leaving work early to watch the games, or simply calling in sick.

其他策略性员工表示，他们将利用工作时间观看比赛，包括要求全天休假，提前工作以观看比赛，或者请病假。

When comparing across different job categories, Accountants were found more likely than others to secretly watch the games at their desk. Customer Service professionals in comparison were more likely than others to take a day of annual leave, while Civil Engineers were more likely to leave work early to watch the games.

当对不同的工作类别进行比较时，会计人员被发现比其他人更有可能在办公室秘密地观看比赛。相比而言，客户服务专业人士更有可能休假一天，而土木工程师则更有可能早点下班观看比赛。

A further source of productivity loss identified in GulfTalent's survey is late night game watching and after hours socializing. Almost two-thirds of professionals surveyed said they will watch the late matches even if it meant sleeping late. When asked how this would impact their work the next day, 74% of them said they will simply cut down on their sleep in order to get to work on time. A further 17% would go to work late, while 8% would take the next day off as annual leave, and 1% would call in sick.

在GulfTalent的调查中，另一个生产力损失的来源是夜幕观察和几小时的社交活动，几乎三分之二的专业人士表示，他们将观看晚间比赛，即使这意味着睡得晚。当被问及第二天如何影响工作时，有74%的人表示，为了按时上班，他们只能减少睡眠。另有17%的人晚点上班，8%的人第二天作为年假休假休假，1%的人会请病假。

Interest in the games is not limited to junior employees. The survey found that many managers also intended to watch the games during working hours. Within this segment, senior executives and company directors registered the highest rate, with 32% of them planning to watch the games during working hours, as compared to an overall staff average of 28%.

这项调查发现，许多经理也打算在工作时间观看比赛。在这一部分中，高管和公司董事的占比最高，其中32%的人计划在工作时间内观看比赛，而工作人员总数平均为28%。

Unlike the non-managerial staff who mostly resort to streaming on their phones, a sizeable number of senior executives plan to watch the games on company TV screens.

与多数使用手机进行视频流播的非管理人员不同，有相当数量的高级管理人员计划在公司电视屏幕上观看比赛。

The survey also asked managers how much flexibility they would allow their subordinates to watch the games. Overall, 67% of managers said they would consider allowing their staff to watch some of the games, provided the workload was not too heavy.

调查还询问管理人员，他们会有多大的灵活性，允许下属观看比赛，总体而言，67%的经理表示，如果工作量不太大，他们将考虑允许员工观看某些比赛。

The survey found that managers who were themselves inclined to watch the games were more likely to give flexibility to their employees to watch them. Moreover, they were more willing to give their subordinates time off on days when their own personal favorite teams were playing.

调查发现，那些自己倾向于观看比赛的经理们更有可能给他们的员工灵活观察他们。此外，他们更愿意在他们自己最喜爱的球队踢球时给下属一些时间。

The threat to productivity is not confined to the Middle East. During the last World Cup, a survey involving 100 UK business leaders by telecoms and IT services provider Coms plc, estimated that the World Cup could result in a loss to British business of 250 million working hours. A separate survey by employment law specialists ELAS put the potential cost of the 2014 World Cup to Britain's employers at £4bn in lost productivity.

对生产力的威胁不仅限于中东。在上届世界杯期间，电信和信息技术服务公司Coms plc对100名英国企业领袖进行的一项调查估计，世界杯会给英国2.5亿个工作小时的业务带来损失。就业法专家ELAS的一项单独调查将2014年世界杯的潜在成本推给英国雇主40亿英镑，即生产率损失。

According to GulfTalent, given the nature of this year's World Cup, the potential productivity loss is particularly high and Middle East employers with poor or inadequate guidelines are likely to suffer a disproportionate amount of absenteeism and staff distraction.

根据GulfTalent的说法，鉴于今年的世界杯的性质，潜在生产力的损失特别高，准则不充分或准则不充分的中东雇主可能过多地缺勤和工作人员分心。

However, only 16% of managers surveyed said their companies had a specific employee policy for the World Cup. Where policies had been setup and communicated, some consisted mainly of punitive measures such as stricter time and attendance monitoring, official warnings, potential salary deductions, and making up hours missed.

然而，仅有16%的受访者表示，他们的公司有针对世界杯的具体员工政策。在制定和传播政策时，有些政策主要包括惩罚性措施，如更严格的时间和出勤监测、官方警告、可能的薪金扣减，以及弥补耽误时间。

Others reported more accommodating policies, such as giving employees time off if targets had been achieved, an 'allowance' of up to 3 early departures or late arrivals, giving permission to watch the games whenever the employee's national team was playing, or even providing for collective game watching on company TV screens as a team building initiative. — SG

其他人则报告说，采取了更多的便利政策，如如果目标已经实现，给予雇员休假、最多3次提前离职或晚到达的"津贴"；允许在员工国家队比赛时观看比赛，或者甚至规定集体比赛在公司电视屏幕观看，作为团队建设计划。