One year from today and you might find that office productivity drops for a fortnight as the staff decamp to the pub to watch Tom Daley and Team GB chase gold.
With exactly one year to go until The London Olympic Games 2012, HR professionals are being urged to have plans in place governing staff conduct and viewing during the events.
London 2012 provides a brilliant opportunity for employers to unite staff and build morale, but it also raises the prospect of upsetting people if disciplinary action needs to be taken on an ad hoc basis because staff are unaware of acceptable guidelines.
That seems all too likely according to research conducted by Cisco which reveals that just 10% of workers are aware of any plans to watch Games action either at the office (4%), through a work social event (3%) or in a corporate hospitality environment (1%).
Despite the growing adoption of remote working, only 2% say their employers have plans to introduce a flexible working policy during Games time, allowing staff to watch the main action whilst working from home.
“The London Olympic Games will undoubtedly be one of the greatest shows on earth. It’s clear that people are really looking forward to watching all the action and this is a great way to inspire staff,’ said Neil Crockett, Cisco MD London 2012. "There’s no question that this is a once in a lifetime event for the whole of the UK and businesses should embrace London 2012 and use it as an event to rejuvenate and bring together their workforce. Whilst of course employers need their businesses to continue trading as normal, a get together in the office to watch the final of a major sporting event is only going to build morale and improve camaraderie.”
Getting to the bottom of Acas guidelines
A similar plea has been made by employment relations service Acas which has issued guidance to employers on getting the best from their staff and avoiding absence during the Games. Acas reckons that employers should start talking to employees early to manage expectations and minimise the impact on productivity.
Essentially Acas encourages employers to:
- Be flexible – alter start and finish times and allow longer lunch breaks so that staff can watch events during the working day
- Be clear about what is expected from employees in relation to attendance and performance
- Communicate – start talking early on about managing leave and working hours
- Be honest about how you will manage changes to working practices and where this isn’t possible explain the reasons for this
- Be fair about the way you respond to requests for time off.
"Big sporting occasions can present a number of dilemmas for firms who might be worried about the impact of less productive employees or the after effects of lively celebrations," observed Acas Chief Executive John Taylor. "Employers need to start planning now to avoid problems later on, check policies and procedures and remind staff how these work in practice. If you’ve been lucky enough to get tickets for the Olympics you certainly don’t want to find you can’t get the time off work!"
Acas is playing its own part in the Olympics run-up, signing an agreement with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the TUC to ensure workers’ grievances during the Olympics are fast tracked through its system in order to minimise disruption to the Games. This deal covers all LOCOG’s workforce on site during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the 70,000 volunteers that LOCOG is recruiting throughout 2011.
