.Wednesday, June 30, 2010 ' 9:08 PM Y
Recently,‘
Goal!’ has been a common word both seen and heard. A horde of citizens gather together as they glue their eyes to the television screen with intense emotions of anxiety and excitement. Visualizing the screen, 22 men running after a ball, it sounds familiar...
SOCCER!
The World Cup fever has advanced to many countries. With World Cup fans ranging from young toddlers to the elderly, inclusive of both genders, this has certainly gained the support from countless of people around the world. World Cup, only held once every four years, is an event everyone looks forward to. Regardless of whether those who follow up on World Cup are avid fans of soccer, many still continue to watch the soccer matches as this is the hot soccer season. Potentially good players within a soccer team are separated when they return to play for their own home country. Unlike usual matches whereby players within the same team may hail from different countries, World Cup is an exception. For World Cup matches, countries compete against one another with the aim of emerging victorious and become the champion team.
However, there are rising concerns that the World Cup has greatly affected office productivity. This applies to the working society of all countries in general. Due to the difference in time zones, host countries may have arranged for matches to be held in the afternoon. Whereas for people living in other parts of the world, the soccer matches only commence at night, or even in the middle of the night. As a result, employees often keep late nights during this period to watch the matches.
Thus, employees who report to work during the day, especially in the morning, tend to feel lethargic and sleepy. With a heavy mind and the urge to doze off, they stay unfocussed on their job. Distraction also plays a part when their minds wander off to the World Cup, instead of concentrating on their individual duties. As a result, work attitude is affected and the fall in productivity may lead to a standstill in production. This is evident when workers request for days of leave supported by ‘valid reasons’. In actual fact, they either want to catch up on their sleep or watch the matches held during their working hours. In relation to an extreme case, a China worker even proposed to resign in support of watching World Cup.
From my perspective, employees should try to be more understanding and put themselves in the shoes of their employees. The employers are clearly aware that this is only a temporary phase held over a few weeks. People will return to their usual lifestyles as soon as World Cup ends. An occasional event held once every four years, bosses should treat World Cup as an exception. Who knows? Bosses may be World Cup fanatics too.
Among employees who support the same countries, this builds up team spirit and they become more united after knowing that one another share a common idea.
Soccer bets have also increased due to the presence of World Cup. People vote by ‘buying’ for the team based on the one which they feel is most likely to win. Thus, this contributes to large percentage of their interest in watching the matches. These people watch World Cup for the sake of hoping that the country they have placed their vote for will win, so that they can earn extra money. Affecting office productivity may be a minimal concern to them.
Besides those who hold jobs, there are students who also stay up late at night to watch the soccer matches. Thus, they experience a lack of sleep and find it tough to pay full attention during lessons. Honestly, 'admiration' is the word to describe students who sacrifice their sleep to watch World Cup but are still determined to attend school the next morning. It will indeed be a waste to miss out on World Cup. To such students, both World Cup and studies are their priorities.
Although only 32 countries are qualified to participate in World Cup, live broadcasts from satellites via the television or even through online sites enable people from around the world to have the opportunity to watch the matches. Despite hectic schedules, World Cup fans still make it a point to stay tuned to matches. This shows the importance of World Cup to everyone. As such, World Cup has become the talk of the town. Currently, it is down to eight countries, followed by four and soon, it reaches the final two. Newspapers are publishing soccer scores daily and they are also conveyed to others through the word of mouth. In my view, the thrill of watching the matches is what people seek for compared to just knowing the scores.
May the best country win!
-Pearlyn :D-
Labels: World Cup 2010
