Managers and employees at Middle East companies are preparing plans – and excuses – to stem any productivity hit that may result from watching the coming 2026 Fifa World Cup, a new study has shown.
About 84 per cent of professionals in the region plan to watch at least some of the matches, with interest high across both genders, Dubai-based recruitment portal GulfTalent said on Wednesday.
Middle East teams in the tournament – Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – plus a number of young Arab talents are expected to heighten interest in the football showpiece.
The World Cup will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the US through mid-July, meaning every match will be held after working hours or overnight in the Middle East – and that time zone difference is playing a role in how both companies and employees plan to watch, the study said.
Of those who plan to watch, nearly half would follow matches through the night, with a similar number watching only evening games before midnight, it said. A smaller number would catch up on replays the following day.
Company leadership, however, is gearing up for more flexible staff rules for the duration of the World Cup: nearly three quarters of managers – who themselves are twice likely to work from home after a match – said they would allow their employees either a late start or time off, GulfTalent said.
“Such HR policies ranged from greater working hours flexibility and reduced hours for national team matches, to strict enforcement of attendance and penalties for absence,” analysts at GulfTalent said.
That said, the impact of watching the matches would be mostly felt during the morning shifts at companies, or at late shifts when matches are on; about 45 per cent of employees said they do not expect a late-night match to affect productivity, the survey said.
The rest who are foresee an effect gave various reasons: nearly a third said they would cut their sleep and go to work tired, while a smaller proportion would either start work late, take the day off as annual leave, work from home, or call in sick, it added.
And although the workplace disruption is certainly not confined to the Middle East, direct comparisons with other regions are difficult, as matches in the region fall outside normal working hours, while alcohol-related absence, a major driver of World Cup sick days in the West, is much more limited.
For perspective, the 2026 World Cup could result in at least $17 billion in lost productivity globally, including about $12 billion in the US alone and $1 billion in the UK, a study from US workforce management company UKG showed.
But other companies plan to use the World Cup as an opportunity to build camaraderie, including with activities such as putting up football-themed decorations, watching matches together, or running score prediction contests, GulfTalent said.
“Some employers expressed concern about the impact of the games on output, while others were more relaxed or even saw an opportunity,” it said.
GulfTalent's research surveyed about 1,200 individuals in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
