Manager decides to terminate employee for watching World Cup match during work hours. HR defends him with one statement, ‘You are rewarding visibility and punishing productivity’

Football fans are happily spending sleepless nights as the much-awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup commenced on June 11 this year. The 23rd edition of the football tournament is scheduled to conclude on July 19. The tournament, jointly hosted by 16 cities - 11 in the US, 3 in Mexico and 2 in Canada - is the first FIFA World Cup to be hosted by 3 nations and the first to include 48 teams, an expansion from the previous 32-team format. Some football enthusiasts are even finding creative ways to catch the action despite busy schedules.

Performance under scrutiny

One employee's decision to tune into a match during work hours at the office, however, sparked an unexpected workplace dispute. The post was shared by career coach Simon Ingari on his X-handle. As per the write-up, the manager approached HR and insisted that an employee named Edwin should be terminated immediately. Reason? The manager caught Edwin watching a World Cup match during office hours with the game open on his computer screen.


The HR, however, chose to dig deeper before making any decision. He began asking a series of questions about Edwin's performance. The manager admitted that Edwin was completing his work on time and consistently meeting deadlines. He also confirmed that there were no performance concerns, no client complaints, no missed targets and no quality-related issues associated with the employee.

When asked what the actual problem was, the manager repeated that Edwin had been watching football during work hours. The HR then sought further clarification and learned that Edwin had already completed his assigned tasks before spending time following the match. The discussion soon shifted from football to productivity. The HR pointed out that Edwin had fulfilled all of his responsibilities, met expectations and achieved his targets before taking time to watch the game.

The final reality check

After that, the HR asked about the performance of Edwin’s colleagues. The manager acknowledged that some of them had unfinished tasks and were not meeting all of their targets.
That response prompted the HR to challenge the logic behind the proposed termination. He highlighted the contradiction in criticising an employee who had completed all of his work while overlooking others who merely appeared busy despite falling short of expectations.

According to the post, the HR manager concluded the conversation with a remark that resonated with many readers online. ‘The issue is that you are rewarding visibility and punishing productivity,’ he told the manager, suggesting that results should matter more than looking busy and not doing any actual work. The manager was left speechless and exited the HR cabin disappointed.