A cure for Cup fever

Hoping to persuade your employer to buy a plasma screen TV for the office in time for the World Cup? He or she might be surprisingly amenable because, as the tournament approaches, distracted staff are starting to look like the lesser of two evils to bosses who fear a sudden spate of absenteeism.

The employers' group the CBI says one in four bosses thinks big events such as the forthcoming tournament are a cause of unwarranted absence, and firms are gearing up for a spate of sickies in June. A survey published last month will have done little to ease their fears - apparently 13% of male workers and 4% of women have feigned illness so as to stay at home to watch sport.

It probably seemed harmless when they picked up the phone and put on a croaky voice, but the cumulative effect of unneeded days off is huge. The CBI says that, last year, 13% of the total 164m sick days were thought by employers to be simply workers skiving, with a cost to the UK economy of £1.2bn.