March Madness will claim its share of victims this week.
At 12:20 p.m. when the University of Maryland tips off against Davidson to signal the start of the NCAA Division I men?s college basketball tournament, working men and women will find ways to track scores, watch games and sneak updates. A recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based consulting firm, says this type of activity could cost employers up to $1.2 billion dollars over the course of the 19-day tournament.
With the addition of free streaming online video this year from the NCAA and other Web sites, the study indicated that as much as $260 million in wages paid to unproductive workers could be lost during the first two days of the tournament.
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“We take the tournament very seriously,” said Curtis Myers, a sales manager for Allied Home Mortgage in Ellicott City.
Last year, Myers won his office pool, properly selecting the most accurate tournament results against about 20 to 25 co-workers who also filled out their brackets. For him, it?s more than a chance at bragging rights; it?s a chance to win a little money on the side.
“Working [during the games] sucks, so anything to take my mind off of work is awesome,” Myers said.
In a study from WorkPlace Media, a Mentor, Ohio-based media research company with a database of more than 900,000 U.S. companies, the firm found that about 30 percent of employees would be participating in office pools this year. Most of the 30 percent would also place bets on the tournament, but only small ones, saying they would bet only about $10 or less on their picks. Myers said his pool operates for about $50 a bracket.
“There?s an awful lot of folks out there who aren?t going to be betting on the pool,” said Jeff Lehman, the vice president of WorkPlace Media. “But at the end of the day, it is still a pretty significant amount of people who will be watching the pools and betting online.”
Another study by Challenger indicated that of 100 companies surveyed, only six planned to take steps to prevent workers from accessing sites that would offer the streaming video, adding that about 94 percent of companies don?t consider productivity loss an issue from the tournament, and that they view it as a reward for year-round hard work.
Last year, CBS, which has a broadcast agreement with the NCAA for the rights to the tournament, reported more than 1.2 million people signed up for online video feeds.
As for Myers chances this year?
“It?s a lock,” he said. “As you can say, ?I?m money.? ”
