Who is Allowed to Watch the World Cup Games in the Office?

POOLE, England, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Office furniture retailer BT Office could not help but notice that the debate about whether it should be allowed to watch World Cup matches in the office or not is hotting up this week.

According to internet service provider Eclipse, 54% of the British population plan to watch the World Cup games online at work. As BT Office understands some companies will make room in their boardrooms for staff to follow the games together on big screens, whilst others will allow employees to watch online from their office desks.

One side of the debate, and backed up by Union Leaders at the TUC, are in favour of letting staff watch the games at work as it would otherwise lead to staff absence in form of holidays or faked sickness. Another strong view is that the World Cup is only happening once every four years, and as the Brits work the longest hours in Europe, they deserve some degree of flexibility in their working hours during the World Cup. It would be up to individual bosses to put down some guidelines; whether it is that the time is taken as an extended lunch or that time has to be made up at the end of the day.

The other side of the debate is arguing that not everyone is interested in following the games and that it would lead to further setbacks for the strained UK economy and have a negative impact on productivity for individual companies.  Whichever side you support it is apparent that online viewing of the World Cup can cause computer chaos as it slows down office computer systems. Experts also warn that employees could risk crashing their work systems by tuning into live streams.  

BT Office suggests that business owners and managers should not get too comfortable in their office chairs before they have put together clear guidelines for their employees with regards to viewing World Cup games in the office. If they don't they should be prepared for an upsurge in sick leaves or bandwidth problems around 3 pm Wednesday 23 June when England is playing Slovenia.

To check out the times and dates of all the world cup games visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/fixtures/6664365/World-Cup-Game-Schedule.html

For more information about BT office visit: http://www.btoffice.com/blog/2010/06/world-cup-2010

About BT Office Furniture

BT Office Furniture is a national, privately owned company founded in 1994 which supplies and installs office furniture in the UK.  BT Office has concentrated on providing great value for money without compromise on quality and service. Their furniture portfolio includes executive ranges that cover both contemporary and classic designs. For orders and queries please call 0800 298 7033 or visit the http://www.btoffice.com  to find out more.

Press Information

For further information on BT Office Furniture, its products and services please contact Derek Flood, Unit 9 Benridge Park, Holy Rood Close, Poole, Dorset, BH17 7BD

Tel: + 44 (0)1202 699 900     Email: [email protected]

SOURCE BT Office