UK workers to be paid £1.6 billion to watch Olympics while at work

Sporting Index has found that the cost to the British economy from workers watching the 31^st Olympiad at work is a staggering £1.6bn. 

The spread betting firm commissioned pollsters Opinium to survey the British public ahead of the Games, and found that Olympic-watching Brits will spend 24 minutes on average tuning into the sporting action from Brazil while at work.

There was a gender divide too, with men the more Olympics hungry (or perhaps more work shy) at 27 minutes with women only wasting 22 minutes on average. 

Over the 15 working days of the Games, each employee will use up to six workday hours watching Team GB online – costing the British economy 126 million lost working hours.

Taking the UK average wage of £12.75 per hour, up to £1.6bn will be paid to UK workers for cheering on British athletes.

While the UK economy may suffer during the Games, Sporting Index are expecting Team GB to have their most successful ever away Olympics, collecting 55 medals overall including 19 golds, which might provide a silver lining for employers ruing lost productivity.

The survey also found that the British public will lose 302 million hours of sleep due to staying up to catch the late night drama from Rio.

 Ed Fulton, Trading Spokesman for Sporting Index, said: “With the action from Rio starting early afternoon most days and available online in just a few clicks, even the most diligent employees may come down with a case of Olympics fever and be tempted to secretly tune in.

“The idle workforce is in for a treat however, as we’re expecting Rio 2016 to be Team GB’s best ever away Olympiad with a record 55 medals won.”