IPTV is the cure for world cup sickies

Businesses that install IPTV in time for the world cup will avoid staff shortages, vendor claims

Nearly half of all 16-24 year olds have revealed that they would ‘pull a sickie’ or take a days holiday to watch live events, such as the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2006.

The research, commissioned by IPTV vendor Exterity, showed that 43 per cent of those respondents said they wouldn’t go into work if they couldn’t watch their team play.

It’s not just the male contingency that want to watch the World Cup; of the women questioned, 23 per cent said that they would take time off to watch an event like the World Cup if it wasn’t possible to do so at work.

A spokesman for The Work Foundation, a think tank and consultancy, said: " The key for all organisations is to be able to plan ahead and reduce unscheduled absence; uncertainty of cover is what is feared most. Many employers are already putting in place special leave arrangements. In addition, some are taking steps such as putting up TV screens in canteens and cafeterias."

Brewer SABMiller is one such company.
“We have installed an IPTV system in our building and plan to give our employees access to the matches that they are interested in from any of our meeting rooms or from the atrium,” said Roger Chappé de Léonval, IT manager at SABMiller.

“We realise that our employee’s minds will be else where when their favourite team is playing so would prefer to have them in the office rather than at home either throwing a sickie or on a day of holiday.”

Colin Farquhar, chief executive of Exterity, added: "“The World Cup presents a great opportunity for businesses to bring staff together and boost morale, the games are only two hours long and companies should encourage their employees to be patriotic and support their teams. Businesses that have installed an IPTV system in their offices will benefit by avoiding staff shortages and unnecessary pressure on company bandwidth, as employees either take time off or try to w atch games on the internet while at work.“

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Further reading:

Size does matter for World Cup fans