Olympics a non-starter for office workers

Office workers are set to snub the greatest show on earth in favour of knuckling down at their desks.

While China prepares for a frenzy of co-ordinated enthusiasm for the Beijing Olympics, three-quarters of the 100 responses to the latest silicon.com poll said they would be focusing on work rather than keeping an eye on the Games.

The majority of Olympic devotees say they will watch results updated online while in the office and only one in 20 polled say they will watch online video.

With China seven hours ahead, many of the most prestigious events will take place during British working hours. However, only three per cent of the 100 polled will have a radio or TV set up in the office to follow how medals are won and lost.

In a separate survey, conducted by Monster, UK workers proved to be less enthusiastic to follow events in the office than other nations.

Canadian employees were the most enthusiastic, with four in 10 set to follow the Games to some extent, closely followed by Hungarian and Finnish workers.

Although less than a third of UK workers will keep tabs on events to any degree they showed much greater enthusiasm than their French counterparts, 94 per cent of whom will not be following the Games at all.