England Are Out: Could Cutting Staff Some Slack Today Improve Productivity Tomorrow?

It’s not coming home.

Despite a hard-fought battle, England was defeated by Argentina in a 2-1 loss last night, marking the end of the team’s World Cup 2026 tour. Well, they’ll still play one final match when they fight France for third place, but for all intents and purposes, the dream is over and they’re going home.

In a country like England, where football is a huge part of national culture, losing a match like this is nothing short of devastating. We often focus on collective excitement and celebrations of victories – the fun side of sport – and the positive ramifications these things can have on a broader scale. That is, a national unity, a little bit of patriotism and a feeling of togetherness.

But, what about the other side of the coin? It’s no surprise that a big sporting loss can be devastating for fans, especially super fans, but there’s something a little different about a national loss after a tournament that’s involved such a long period of build-up.

My first thought when the loss became clear was: I bet my emails will be quiet tomorrow. And that got me thinking.

During the tournament, we saw loads of social media posts and viral messages about “cool bosses” that told employees to start a little later or push out early meetings after the 2am match – and in some cases, just take the day off! But these were all in the wake of a collective win.

But, what happens after a big loss? Do bosses and employees behave the same way? And perhaps more importantly, should they? Would it actually be helpful for morale, motivation and productivity to cut employees a bit of slack the next day in an effort to get back on the horse the next day? Could it, in fact, be better for business?

The Importance of Workplace Compassion

At the end of the day, it may be a loss in sport rather than a death in the family or something objectively dramatic and devastating, but that doesn’t mean that a compassionate response isn’t appropriate. Apart from the human side of being kind and empathetic, it’s really important for employers to seriously consider the fact that employees being sad about losing an important match may have some very real effects on productivity, and ultimately, output. That is, England getting knocked out of the World Cup may very well mean your business is less efficient in the period directly following the loss.

But not necessarily, and there are a few ways to combat this. Firstly, acknowledgement is a good place to start. Rather than ignoring the loss and the fact that employees may be more than a little bit upset, it’s always a good idea to acknowledge the feelings. Anthony Khoury of Print Pronto echoes this sentiment, asserting that in his experience, “Ignoring the loss and saying morale hasn’t dropped never results in the best company performance.”
Indeed, Matt Grammer of Therapy Trainings® says that, “The most productive workplace is the one that provides the opportunity for emotional recovery and encouraging re-engagement.”

In fact, just being kind and understanding in response to a loss like this can help get things back on track. Grammer adds that, in fact, “workplace compassion can improve productivity. When employees feel understood, they become more capable of focusing, contributing and performing to their potential.”

Thus, it would appear that being understanding and compassionate may very well help restore the mood and allow productivity to go back to normal. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that employers need to go as far as giving people time off or cancelling meetings.

Showing Understanding Without Lowering Expectations 

As always, it’s about balance. One can be kind, compassionate and even completely relate to the loss and decreased motivation, but that doesn’t mean that everything else needs to go out the window. After all, it may be upsetting and disappointing, but if we paused business every time something didn’t quite go our way, we wouldn’t get anything done. And while employees may feel disheartened (or for some super fans, perhaps even totally heartbroken), we do still need to be able to differentiate between this kind of loss in sport and other, more serious losses that would actually require a bit more of a serious response.

Thus, as Dorothy Ogwuru puts it, “National events that impact large portions of the workforce should not be used by leaders to derail their expectations.” Empathy is essential and understanding important, but giving people the day off isn’t the right move and it’s not going to be good for business.

“Showing some compassion does not mean lowering your expectations for the long haul,” says Dorothy, but “Understanding that people are not machines shows your team that with a little flexibility and understanding, you can avoid the team-draining effects of long hours, while allowing your team to come back even more ready and enthusiastic to work.”

So there you have it.

No, your boss probably shouldn’t give you the day off, but it would be a great idea for them to acknowledge the loss and be a little more flexible than normal. And after that, it’s time to get back to work.

After all, life goes on and it’s really not the end of the world (sorry, England fans).

Experts Share Their Thoughts

• Anthony Khoury: Print Marketing, E-Commerce and Entrepreneurship Expert at Print Pronto
• Michael Stein: Founder of Tarps Plus | Ecommerce Entrepreneur | Business Growth & Retail Expert at Tarps Plus
• Dorothy Ogwuru: Founder at Pharmalink Academy
• Matt Grammer: Licensed Therapist at Therapy Trainings®

Anthony Khoury, Print Marketing, E-Commerce and Entrepreneurship Expert at Print Pronto

“As a founder, productivity taught me that people feeling trusted and supported is much more important than the pressure that productivity drives.

“When a national loss in sports affects a large part of a company, ignoring the loss and saying morale hasn’t dropped never results in the best company performance.. Being flexible, empathetic, and acknowledging the loss will help the company focus and perform better than before.

“Everyone in a small company is equally important and the performance of the company will suffer if any of the employees are not energized and engaged in helping the company grow. Temporarily relaxing work standards by allowing breathing space will improve trust and loyalty, and employees always remember when their superiors treat employees like human beings instead of machines that work only to provide output to the company.

“Compassion and clarity is the ultimate balance. This way, the company will achieve its goals more than if the balance is ignored and compassion is exercised every single day.”

Michael Stein, Founder of Tarps Plus

“As someone who has founded and been running an expanding business for over a quarter of a century, I have gained an understanding of how to get the best from your team. I have learned that the best productivity approaches are through trust and understanding, and the focus should be on your team members, recognizing that they are also human.

“Decisive moments in a major sporting event can then be used effectively by leaders to consider the impact on the situational sports workplace, rather than dismissing the event and its impact. Recognizing how employees feel when their team or favorite sporting team has lost and being flexible to some degree will lead, over time, to the employees feeling more valued, even more so when they are engaged in coming to work.

“Having flexible standards does not mean they become permanent. Employees appreciate when leaders have an understanding of the human side of the experiences of their team. Prioritizing productivity with compassion leads to employees giving their best focus and re-energized attention on the task at hand.”

Dorothy Ogwuru, Founder at Pharmalink Academy

“Over the years in the pharmaceutical industry, I’ve learned that true high performance doesn’t come from overlooking human emotions. Rather, it comes from understanding them.

“National events that impact large portions of the workforce should not be used by leaders to derail their expectations. However, being a little flexible, empathetic, or simply acknowledging disappointment goes a long way in making employees feel valued and supported, and even inspires them to engage again and focus after the disappointment passes.

“The key here is balance. Showing some compassion does not mean lowering your expectations for the long haul. Understanding that people are not machines shows your team that with a little flexibility and understanding you can avoid the team-draining effects of long hours, while allowing your team to come back even more ready and enthusiastic to work.”

Matt Grammer, Licensed Therapist at Therapy Trainings®

“A collective loss, like a national loss in sports, can reduce employee productivity and focus at work. However, even a small event that triggers emotional bonding can be shared and then subsequently experienced individually, which has a disproportionately larger impact on employee focus and productivity.

“From a mental health perspective, some flexibility with the ‘post-event recovery period’ is more about the employers’ understanding of psychology than about ‘lowering the bar.’ Stress can be alleviated by small acts of understanding and strong trust can be built.

“A workplace that encourages emotional suppression is not the most productive workplace. The most productive workplace is the one that provides the opportunity for emotional recovery and encourages re-engagement.

“Workplace compassion can improve productivity. When employees feel understood, they become more capable of focusing, contributing, and performing to their potential.”

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