Whistle (and cheer) while you work: ESPN says World Cup scored big on computers at offices

Office work gets the boot during World Cup games

NEW YORK — The World Cup kept plenty of office workers from doing their jobs.

According to ESPN, fourteen percent of Americans surveyed said they or a friend broke work rules to watch the tournament in South Africa.

The cable network Monday cited research by Knowledge Networks’ Total Touch that found 77 percent of out-of-home Internet usage during World Cup matches occurred at offices and 50 percent of out-of-home ESPN mobile use was at offices.

Eighteen percent of people said they or a friend wore their favorite team’s World Cup jersey to work during the tournament from June 11 to July 11, and 5 percent said they or a friend broke up with a significant other because of the World Cup.