Employers - show us what you're made of

It’s time for workplaces to show us what they’re made of.

So many of them are keen to impress on us their ‘employee first’ credentials – and fair play to them for that. A great culture at work is a massive plus; if you like the place in which you work, and the people with whom you work, there’s a better chance your day at work will be more bearable, even enjoyable.

Workplaces that extoll these virtues will give you little freebies from time to time, throw parties for you, let you wear jeans – that kind of thing. In return, they will shout about how great a place to work it is and use the promise of a really great office culture to tempt new employees.

So for those that claim to be on the side of their employees, it’s time to walk the walk.

The reason I say this is because I am a big football fan. And this Friday sees the start of a rather big football tournament, Euro 2016.

Within this rather big tournament is a rather big fixture. England versus Wales, which will be played slap bang in the middle of a working day.

So how should employers deal with this? It’s likely that there will be a lot of people within their workplaces that would quite like to watch it. But that doesn’t mean a workplace is obliged to let them do so. You may say we’re paid to come to work, so we should work. It also risks setting a dangerous precedent. For example, someone may not be interested in the football, but very interested in a five-day cricket test match, or a milestone edition of Doctors. Of course this stretches the analogy, but you wouldn’t get time off for these, so why should the football be any different. Also, in any workplace, while there are people that can take a couple of hours off without their work suffering – it’ll still be there when they get back – others simply can’t leave their desk. Would they take umbrage at those that have sauntered off while they work on?

But then again, think of the goodwill you’d have for any boss that said to you: “yes, use your lunch hour, then take another, and make it up at the end of the day.” I’d think that was a great gesture, and it would likely make me want to talk up my employer to those that were thinking of coming to work here. I would come back after the match in the afternoon happy to repay that hour.

So come on England, and come on employers – show us what you’re made of.