March Madness vs Office Productivity

We’re suspicious of those studies that come out around every major sporting event, purporting to quantify the economic cost of distracted workers. Sure, people are obsessing about the NCAA tournament (we are), but they’re probably swapping hoops for their usual non-work office activities, rather than failing to get anything done at all. That said, we suspect the copier is getting more than its usual workout, thanks to March Madness, as employees scour stats and forecasts to come up with the perfect picks. Then, they huddle around TV and computer screens to get the latest scores and highlights, all while talk smack about the results. Many bosses do worry about productivity, and many feel that this sort of activity is entirely inappropriate for the workplace, according to a survey from OfficeTeam. The majority are willing to just let it go, within reason. Employees, on the other hand, don’t feel these events present any work distractions. More than 1,010 senior executives and 435 workers took part in the survey, which can be accessed here.