Amsterdam
A Dutch company is offering firms insurance against losing their employees to the World Cup, which starts next month. In past years, so many Dutch workers called in sick when the Netherlands’ team played in the soccer tournament—20 percent in 2004—that some companies have suffered significant financial losses. Dutch CEOs call the phenomenon the “Orange flu,” after the team color. Dennis Massaar of the insurance company SEZ said that this year firms could insure their workforces. The company will pay benefits each time a worker stays home on either a game day or the day after—known as the “hangover day.”
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