travbowman asked
Dear bosses of Ryan Wright: Please forgive him if he seems distracted over the next three weeks. Not only did his alma mater, Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., qualify for this year’s NCAA basketball tournament — a.k.a. March Madness — but it’s also time to fill out his brackets for his office pool. For Wright, 28, of Dearborn and legions of fellow fans, betting with friends and co-workers during March Madness has become a national — though technically illegal — pastime of sorts. Workers will spend countless hours filling out tournament brackets, monitoring scores on the Web and talking trash across cubicles. Here’s the math: Employers nationwide lose about $101 million in productivity for every 10 minutes their employees spend obsessing about the tournament, according to New York outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “I’d guess worker productivity is down in March at most places,” said Wright, an accounting manager at a Metro Detroit manufacturing firm. “Technically, (pools) are illegal, but it’s hard to find an office without one.” During March Madness, many people become caught up in the excitement of college basketball. Unfortunately for most businesses, a lot of the games take place during the workday. Overall estimates vary, but studies say U.S. businesses will lose anywhere from $400 million to $1.5 billion during the 15-day event, which ends April 5.
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