WC may hit work productivity in India: Assocham

The Cricket World Cup 2011, starting from February 19, has a flip side for corporate productivity, if Assocham survey is to be believed.

Besides, the corporate employees, the mega event would also impact the studies of students, especially those appearing for the board level examinations, the industry chamber said after a random survey of 4,000 people.

India Inc may register a significant drop in productivity during the month of February-March as one in five employees would like to take time off to watch their favourite matches, it said.

"For businesses, this could translate into millions of man-hours of lost productivity. At least 10-12 million people will watch the match and result in a productivity loss of 768 million man hours," it said.

Over half of the respondents said they intend to work for shorter days for the month-long event, it said, adding that many said that they are planning to take offs.

Workplace productivity in India is expected to drop as several matches are scheduled during office hours.

"Workplace productivity is bound to be affected and employers should be concerned about the issue of employee absenteeism and the resulting productivity loss," it said.

The survey added that the level of absenteeism is likely to go up after the post-match celebrations or lack of sleep.