Several companies in China give day off so employees can catch World Cup finals
Several major companies in China announced measures to help their employees catch the World Cup finals without worry.
Some are giving employees only a half day — with mornings off — while others are giving them the day off entirely.
According to the South China Morning Post, these companies include Adidas, Lenovo, and NetEase.
Companies enjoying good publicity from the move
The World Cup finals will take place at 3am on Monday (20 July) SGT, the same time as in China.
Source: FIFA World Cup on Facebook
Adidas, who is sponsoring both finalists, announced on Weibo that their employees will have Monday off.
In its statement, which called the finals an “Adidas derby”, the company said it would grant a special day off for all employees except for those who already have special meetings scheduled.
Lenovo, meanwhile, gave their employees “sleep passes” to let those who stayed up to watch the games catch up on their rest.
The pass allowed their employees to either arrive two hours late or leave two hours earlier than usual.
Finally, the internet company NetEase is also allowing their employees a half day on Monday, only requiring them to come into the office in the afternoon.
The announcements proved a hit online, with many commenters expressing their wish to join the companies.
Workplace attendance during World Cup becomes hot topic worldwide
China is not alone in offering days off for the World Cup, with Hong Kong’s ZA Bank also offering an extra day of unpaid leave to its staff.
However, others are not so lucky.
Despite being in the finals, a company in Argentina fired 35 workers after their bosses told them it was okay to leave early to catch the match against Egypt.
Meanwhile, in the United States, many are taking sick leave just to catch the games.
A report said that work attendance dropped roughly 10 times more than even the day after the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the American National Football League (NFL).
Also read: Some S’pore schools starting classes later & holding watch parties for World Cup final
Some S’pore schools starting classes later & holding watch parties for World Cup final
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Featured image adapted from FIFA World Cup on Facebook and Facebook.
