The tournament is six days in. By now, you have seen what we wrote about in Episode 1. Some employees are deeply engaged. Others are quietly tracking scores on their phones. A few have already requested time off for matches you did not know they cared about.
Today’s episode is the pillar piece of this series. If your team only reads one article between now and the final on 19 July, this should be it. We cover the five dimensions of managing US employees through the World Cup, and how to get each one right.
Dimension 1: Time off and PTO requests
This is the immediate operational pressure point.
US employees receive 10 to 15 paid vacation days per year. That is half what most European workers get. Match timing matters because nearly every World Cup match in 2026 kicks off during US working hours, especially the group stage afternoon games and the knockout rounds that follow.
The principle we recommend: be predictable, be consistent, and be fair across nationalities. The two failure modes we see most often are blanket approval (which depletes coverage and treats the tournament as a special category) and blanket refusal (which signals you do not value your team’s interests).
A workable middle position looks like this. Set a published policy before the next big match. Communicate that PTO requests for World Cup matches will be approved on the same basis as any other PTO request, subject to coverage and notice. Treat the US team’s matches the same way you treat England, Germany, Mexico, or Brazil matches for employees connected to those teams. Inconsistency is what creates HR problems, not the tournament itself.
We are covering PTO mechanics in detail next Wednesday in Episode 3.
Dimension 2: Productivity during match hours
Be realistic. Productivity will dip on big match days. The question is not whether to allow it, but how to channel it.
The companies handling this well are doing three things. First, they are tracking which matches matter to their workforce and adjusting meeting schedules in advance. A 3pm Eastern kickoff on a Tuesday is a bad time to schedule a critical client call if half your team is invested in the result. Move the meeting.
Second, they are giving permission for short, structured viewing. A 90-minute group stage match watched in the conference room is not lost productivity. It is a culture-building moment that costs you almost nothing and signals that you understand what is happening in the country you operate in.
Third, they are protecting deep work for the early mornings and late afternoons around the match. Productive teams cluster their hardest work outside the cultural moments. Tournament weeks are no different.
What you should not do is pretend nothing is happening, schedule wall-to-wall meetings during major matches, and then wonder why engagement scores drop in July.
Dimension 3: Watch parties and inclusive celebration
A well-run workplace watch party builds your culture. A poorly-run one creates HR complaints. The difference is in the planning.
If you choose to host watch parties, plan them around multiple matches and multiple teams, not just the USA games. A workforce that sees the company put on a screening for Mexico, England, or Korea matches feels seen in a way that a USA-only celebration does not deliver. We will cover the operational playbook in Episode 4 on 1 July.
For now: think about who is on your team, what matches they care about, and how you can mark those moments without forcing participation. Optional is better than mandatory. Light catering is better than nothing, and far better than an awkward dry conference room. Remote employees need to be included by design, not as an afterthought.
Dimension 4: Multicultural team dynamics and banter
This is the dimension international employers most often underestimate.
A US workforce in 2026 is more nationally diverse than most European executives realise. When England plays Germany, the banter will be real. When the USA plays Mexico, things get more layered. When teams from Africa, South America, or Asia advance unexpectedly, employees you have never spoken to about football will suddenly want to talk.
The line between banter and harassment is real. Good-natured ribbing about a missed penalty is fine. Sustained mockery, national stereotyping, or jokes that single out a colleague’s heritage are not. Managers need to be paying attention.
The other dynamic worth watching is the multinational team where some employees are very engaged and others are not. The point is not to force enthusiasm. It is to make sure the workplace remains comfortable for the colleague who could not care less about football while not suppressing the cultural moment for the ones who do.
We cover this in detail in Episode 5 on 8 July.
Dimension 5: How managers show up
This is the dimension that gets remembered.
Your employees are watching how you respond to this tournament. They notice whether you ask about matches, whether you accommodate reasonable requests, whether you take a genuine interest in the team a colleague supports. They also notice when managers are dismissive, when they refuse PTO without explanation, when they schedule meetings across critical match windows without acknowledging the conflict.
International managers working with US teams have a particular challenge here. The American expectation is that managers are accessible, direct, and reasonable. A European manager who treats World Cup engagement as unprofessional will be read as cold and out of touch. A manager who leans in too hard, particularly if they support a team playing against the USA, can also misjudge the room.
The best behaviour is genuine, calibrated interest. Ask employees about their teams. Acknowledge the moment without making it a performance. Accommodate where you can. Be clear and consistent when you cannot. Avoid public partisanship if your own team is playing the USA.
We close the series on 22 July with a full synthesis of what works and what does not.
What to do this week
Three actions before next Wednesday:
Audit your meeting calendar against the match schedule. Move any meetings that conflict with a match likely to matter to your team. This single action prevents most of the friction you would otherwise face.
Publish your PTO approach in writing. Whatever your policy is, make sure your US team knows what it is before they ask. A clear policy applied consistently beats a generous policy applied inconsistently.
Have a five-minute conversation with each direct report about the tournament. Not to interrogate them, but to find out which matches matter to them and what they would value from you over the next month. The information you gather is worth more than any policy document.
The tournament has 32 days left. Plan ahead and you come out of it with a stronger team.
See you next Wednesday for the PTO deep dive.
Read the Rest of the World Cup HR Playbook Here:
Episode 1: Managing US Employees Through the 2026 World Cup
Episode 3: How to Handle World Cup PTO Requests From Your US Team
Episode 4: How to Run an Inclusive World Cup Watch Party at Work
Episode 5: Managing World Cup Rivalries and Banter in a Multinational Office
Episode 6: What International Managers Learned From the 2026 World Cup
Our US Cultural Intelligence Advisory
This series draws on the work of global executive trainer Maureen Mitchell, who leads our US Cultural Intelligence Advisory programme. Maureen runs briefings, group advisory engagements, and one-to-one executive coaching for international leaders managing American teams. If you would like to talk, find Maureen at footholdamerica.com/us-cultural-intelligence-advisory.
Frequently Asked Questions: US vs Europe Cultural Differences
Get answers to all your questions and take the first step towards a US business expansion.
Set a clear, written policy before the next big match and apply it consistently across all nationalities. Approve World Cup PTO on the same basis as any other request, subject to coverage and notice. Inconsistency across team members from different national backgrounds is what creates HR problems, not the tournament itself.
Productivity will dip on big match days. The companies handling this well adjust meeting schedules in advance, give permission for short structured viewing, and protect deep work for early mornings and late afternoons around kickoffs. Pretending nothing is happening and scheduling wall-to-wall meetings during major matches is the approach most likely to damage engagement.
Plan watch parties around multiple matches and multiple national teams, not just USA games. Employees whose teams feel acknowledged respond very differently from those who see only a USA-only celebration. Keep participation optional, include remote employees by design, and avoid the dry conference room. Light catering costs little and signals a lot.
Good-natured ribbing about a missed penalty is fine. Sustained mockery, national stereotyping, or jokes that single out a colleague’s heritage are not. Managers need to be paying attention. The goal is to keep the workplace comfortable for colleagues who are not engaged with football while not suppressing the cultural moment for those who are.
Ask employees about their teams, accommodate reasonable requests, and be clear and consistent when you cannot. The American expectation is that managers are accessible, direct, and reasonable. A European manager who treats World Cup engagement as unprofessional will be read as cold and out of touch. Genuine, calibrated interest is the right approach.
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