Work-skipping Andy watchers cost £120m

Published Date: 04 July 2009 EXPERTS have put the cost of workers finishing early or phoning in sick to watch Andy Murray's semi-final encounter at some £120 million. With around eight million viewers expected to tune in to the match, which started around 3:30pm, analysts believe around half of them will have taken time off. Trading was said to have been subdued on the London stock exchange, with many City work ers focused on the drama at Wimbledon. Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: "It would probably be reasonable to assume a loss of about one and a half hour's productivity on average. "Hourly GDP in the UK is £800 million so this would imply a loss of productivity of £120 million. However, Mr McWilliams said the loss of productivity could be outweighed by an... [read full story]                    

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