Sporting Events & The Workplace
Do you have employees? Do your employees enjoy sports? Well, this week there is a trifecta of major sporting events going on. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals is televised tonight, tomorrow is Game 4 of the NBA Finals and Friday is the kick-off concert for the World Cup. It seems there is something for every sports fan. What does this mean for your business? Well, that depends on how you address workplace distractions.
Mr. Daniel Schwartz with the Connecticut Employment Law Blog has some excellent points about the opportunities and distractions which can accompany various sporting events, in particular this year’s World Cup, which will be televised between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m for the next month.
I agree with Mr. Schwartz suggestions and recommend you plan ahead. 
• Remind employees about your policy on using computers for “personal use.”
• Review your PTO or vacation policy and decide how much flexibility you are able to use to address employees’ requests for time off.
• Encourage employees to watch during their lunch hour, and allow some flexibility in scheduling breaks and lunch hours to accommodate game time.
• Encourage professional behavior in the workplace.
These tips can also be applied to any other high profile televised events which may be distracting to your employees and affect productivity at your workplace.
