March Madness Costing Employers?

Partner David Strand was quoted in an article entitled “March Madness Costing Employers?” on New Jersey 101.5’s website.

According to the article, employers would be wise to expect a drop in productivity among their workers over the next few weeks as March Madness launches and college basketball tournament games start airing all day and night.

The station suggested, companies can lose more than $1.2 billion for every unproductive work hour during the first week of the 2014 NCAA Division I men’s tournament.

Companies won’t be able to stop everyone from watching games on their phones or checking scores online, but employers can attempt to stem the loss in productivity by laying down some ground rules, said David.

“You may think about putting television sets or computer monitors in break rooms or coffee rooms of lunch rooms, and allow them to get caught up while they’re on their breaks, so they’re not doing it at their desks,” he suggested.

Office pools are technically legal in New Jersey, but the host mustn’t take any money off the top. David said the entry fee should be reasonable, and participation should be voluntary.

Click to read the full article.