Malaysian employers are bracing for a decline in productivity during the month-long 2014 Fifa World Cup as workers arrive late, perform below their capacity, or don’t show up at all, a Malaysian employers group said today.

Shamsuddin Bardan, executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), said he expected productivity to drop as soon as the event started tomorrow.

“For about a month, football fans will be having insufficient sleep and come to work with heavy eyes and less energy,” Shamsuddin told the Malay Mail.

Due to a 12-hour time difference between Malaysia and Brazil, where the 2014 Fifa World Cup is being held, most of the tournament’s 64 matches will begin at 1am, 4am and 7am local time.

Surveys taken by MEF during the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, played in Germany and South Africa, respectively, showed that more than 55 per cent of Malaysian employers noted high absenteeism or loss of productivity during the tournaments.

- dpa