Getting Up Will Be the Easy Part

When it's kickoff time in Korea and Japan, fans in Britain will be eight time zones away at the start of the working day. So employers are bracing themselves for some significant disruption this June. In a survey of England supporters by Barclaycard released last week, 40% of those questioned said they would feign illness and take sick leave to watch the national side play. Recognizing the inevitability of massive absenteeism, many firms are planning flexible working hours or allowing employees to watch games in the office. Steven Powell of the Football Supporters Association says employers "who take a hard line...