One point eight billion dollars. That's one price tag on the productivity that will be lost this year to March Madness, the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, set to tip off on March 18.
The number comes courtesy of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the executive outplacement firm that has made something of an annual tradition of such tongue-in-cheek calculations. The figure is based on 45% of the workforce participating in betting pools, watching games, and trash-talking at the water cooler for an average 20 minutes a day, and assumes an average wage of $18.70 per hour.
But don't ban bracket-filling just yet. People can find ways to get their jobs done even if their lunch money may be riding on an afternoon basketball game. Even John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm, acknowledges in the press release announcing the estimate that "it is nearly impossible to gauge the impact of March Madness on productivity in an information-based economy where workers possess portable technology that allows them to work from anywhere and any time." In fact, he adds, the $1.8 billion estimate "is probably about as accurate as the point spreads computed by Las Vegas bookmakers."
The presumed inaccuracy of bookies aside, Challenger's admission makes it easier for companies to tolerate betting pools and even game-watching, which are widely acknowledged to be morale boosters. "This year of all years, the importance of camaraderie and bringing employees together is greater than ever," says Jonathan Shapiro, a partner in the Maine office of Fisher & Phillips, a labor and employment law firm. After all, "if people are talking about March Madness, they're not talking about the state of the business, or the pay cuts, or the layoffs, or things like that," he points out.
Of course, companies ought to set rational limits to the Madness. For instance, Shapiro says that executives and managers shouldn't lead the charge on betting pools; otherwise, employees might feel pressured to participate. Make sure other employees don't create that pressure, either, he advises. Also, as far as possible, companies should limit the time employees spend participating in pools to meal and break periods.
Meanwhile, companies may even want to consider rolling in a TV for the first two days of the games, which are played during business hours. "If everyone is streaming video, I would guess that the company e-mail would slow to a snail's pace," Shapiro says. |
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