New Delhi: India Inc may register a significant drop in productivity during the month of February-March 2011 as one in five employees plans to take time off or reduce working hours to watch the ICC cricket World Cup, according to ASSOCHAM survey released today.
The survey further said the impact of the ICC World cup will not only impact the productivity but also studies of the students as the games are coinciding with the final exams.
The random survey, conducted in January-early February 2011, covered 2,000 corporate employees and 2,000 students between the age group ranging from 14-20, 21-30, 31-45 and 46 -55 years in metros and II and III tier cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Indore, Ahemdabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Luckow, and Kanpur.
For businesses, this could translate into millions of man-hours of lost productivity, the survey said adding that at least 10-12 million people will watch the match and result
in a productivity loss of 768 million man hours (12 million x 8 hours x 8 matches), apart from stress faced by mothers during exams.
As many as 85 per cent of Indian students study during the month of March for their exams. The time spent on studies may now be spent over watching television, the survey said.
The actual level of absenteeism is likely to be even higher, due to post-match celebrations or lack of sleep, as fans stay up late to watch the games, reveals the survey.
The presence of the Australian, Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and Pakistan teams in the World Cup is likely to boost the level of interest in the games.
The productivity slump from the World Cup is going to continue till March, says the analysts.
It is found that 20 per cent of respondents indicated their intention to take at least some time off from work.
Just over half of the respondents said they intended to work shorter days for much of the month-long event, with the rest indicating that they planned either to request days off using
their annual leave, or simply call in sick.
The survey also asked employers and those in managerial positions whether they would allow their subordinates time off to watch the games.
''The majority of the respondent said that it is the greatest sporting event on the world stage and we should give people a chance to enjoy something that has nothing to do with politics and violence. Watching the games is a personal decision and up to the individual,'' the survey noted.
