COLUMBIA, S.C. — Experts say the work force is less productive during the NCAA college basketball tournament.
Some studies have estimated the total loss in productivity can be hundreds of millions of dollars, with employees skipping work, taking long lunches or watching games online.
"I’ve seen one that went up as high as $1.7 billion," said Dr. Mark Nagel, associate professor at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. "Employers have to figure out how hard do I watch my employees and do I encourage them to participate in office pools or do I go the other direction, which is outright preventing them from participating."
Some companies have tried to using blocking software to prevent their employees from watching games online.
Improvements in technology have helped to increase the problem.
All of the NCAA tournament games are provided online by CBS and there is even a "boss button" that helps to prevent employees from being caught.
When you click on the boss button, the game is instantly minimized and a flow chart pops up, to make it appear as if the employee is working.
"The NCAA tournament is something where everybody gets involved, from the president down to the lowest level administrative assistant. Everybody fills out a bracket or fills out multiple brackets," he said. "Eighty to 90 percent of the people in the organization are doing that."
It’s a difficult problem for managers to handle and Nagel said there is no specific way to address it.
"There’s really not a hard and fast rule. It really depends on each individual company and what they have to get done and the time frame they’re working within," he said.
Some organizations have embraced March Madness and try to use it as a morale building tool, Nagel said.
Nagel said some managers may ask employees to stay late in the days leading up to the tournament or ask them to complete tasks early. Employers have to be cautious, however, in allowing or promoting tournament pools because if there is money involved, it can be a violation of the law.
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