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That feeling of nervousness mixed with excitement, anticipation mixed with fear, can only mean one thing. There’s a huge sports tournament about to start.

And nothing is bigger than the World Cup of course. You would need to be seriously unaware of the world around you not to know what’s going on. Flags in windows and fluttering from the sides of cars, supermarkets full of England branded products and alcohol promotions and pubs advertising the screening of games have all contributed to the nation reaching fever pitch.

Yes, it will probably end in tears, as it usually does for England fans, but we can always dream.

Should I need reminding, one of the other things that brings it home to me that a major football tournament is about to start is that press releases start to arrive from employment law and HR specialists about how to deal with staff who pull sickies during the tournament or seek to take time off to watch key matches.

Surveys are never far behind. One from legal firm DLA Piper suggests many councils and other public bodies are likely to refuse staff permission to watch games. Its research found that only 30 per cent of public sector organisations are likely to allow staff flexibility to watch any of the matches. This compares with 51 per cent of private sector employers.

This is a surprising statistic in some respects. Whilst we all know that public sector workers are fearful of losing their jobs in planned government cuts, there is usually flexibility built into their contracts – flexi-time and so on - which should allow many employees to work their hours to fit in with key kick off times.

The 51 per cent figure from the private sector is more encouraging and suggests that a common sense approach is - just - winning the day.

Given that England’s first two group games take place in the evenings on days when there is no work on the following day for most of us, it is only the third group game against Slovenia that is causing concern. It kicks off at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon so people working traditional daytime hours who want to watch it will need to take about three hours off work.

Employers who want to retain the good will of their workers will go down the route of suggesting they make up the three hours during the rest of the week. The DLA Piper research suggests just over half have taken this sort of approach.

Those who haven’t - who aren’t working in areas where staff presence is essential at all times - might want to ask themselves what they hope to achieve by taking such a draconian approach at a time when workers haven’t had much to cheer them up. Pay rises and staff perks are largely a thing of the past, three or four day weeks have become more common and nearly everyone is fearing for their future.

Against that backdrop allowing staff to take a few hours off to watch a crucial football match seems a small concession to me. Firms who refuse to take this common sense approach are unlikely to ever find themselves in the lists of best companies to work for - which probably won’t be a huge concern - but will potentially face a staff exodus when the jobs market does finally pick up - which will.

Why not embrace the World Cup, share the joy with your employees and reap the rewards of the goodwill generated?

Come on England.

Comments? Andy Coyne, editor, Midlands Business Insider