Prohibit or embrace it? Managing March Madness in the workplace
Commentary by Lisa A. McGylnn, From Daily Business Review
March Madness is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, and it is once again right around the corner. In addition to potential heartbreak for diehard fans of certain teams, it also can cause some major headaches for employers. Accordingly, this is a good time to consider what should be done to prepare your business for the madness to come.
The biggest impact March Madness has for employers unquestionably is the loss of productivity. While other sporting events like the Super Bowl take place during nontraditional work hours and consist of a single event, March Madness goes on for weeks, and many of the early games take place during the normal workday. The outplacement and coaching consultant firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. estimates that 60 million Americans fill out brackets for March Madness. All of them need time to fill out the brackets as well as research their choices.
Once the brackets are complete, individuals have a vested interest in how their selections fare, and many employees can watch or follow games on their mobile phones as well as on company computers. The first few days of the tournament take place during the workweek where more than a dozen games will be played.
Challenger Gray has estimated that the cost in terms of lost wages paid to distracted and unproductive workers could reach as high as $1.9 billion. That number is calculated based on the number of working Americans believed to follow March Madness, the estimated time spent filling out brackets and watching games, and average hourly earnings of $24.78.
In addition to the general lack of productivity that comes from employees focused more on basketball scores than their job assignments, there is a real risk that employees who stream video on their computers can cause a company’s entire network to slow. Some companies have decided to throttle video feeds to combat this risk. Additionally, some employers prohibit any video streaming not directly related to work.
Florida Ban
Another major potential cause of concern comes with office gambling. Businesses have a wide range of opinions on this topic. Many offices have yearly office pools where employees fill out brackets and bet on the outcome of games and on the tournament’s champion.
In fact, some employers actively encourage office pools because they believe it adds to workplace camaraderie. Others are aware that office pools exist in their workplace but take a passive stance on them. Some companies prohibit office pools altogether.
In determining what policy is best for your company, you should be aware that office pools are technically illegal in Florida. Some states have created exceptions to their gambling laws for office sports pools, but Florida has not.
In fact, under Florida law, gambling of any kind is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 60 days and a $500 fine. That being said, it is unlikely that your local police department is planning to devote its attention to crack down on your company’s office pool.
However, companies should be aware that it is possible that employers who either run or allow office pools in their workplace could be seen as condoning illegal activity.
Religious Objections
Additionally, employers should be mindful that it is possible for an employee to have a religious objection to gambling. Contrary to common belief, religious discrimination laws don’t just protect traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam,and Judaism, but also anyone who has a sincerely held religious, ethical or moral belief.
Thus, if someone has a sincerely held belief that gambling is morally wrong, they are protected from being discriminated against based upon that belief. Therefore, playfully “harassing” an employee to join an office pool could possibly set a company up for a hostile work environment claim.
While it may seem like the obvious solution to the potential risks associated with productivity and office pools is to ban all March Madness related activity in the workplace, this is easier said than done.
In fact, as Challenger Gray has stated: “This tournament and the betting and bracket-building that come with it are ingrained in the national fabric. Trying to stop it would be like trying to stop a freight train. When even the president finds time to fill out a bracket, an employer would be hard pressed to come up with a legitimate reason to clamp down on March Madness activities.”
Instead of fighting March Madness, many employers actually embrace it in ways to maximize the camaraderie-building aspects while downplaying the risks. Ideas include encouraging friendly competitions without an entry fee or monetary prize, or arranging group game-watching sessions. Certainly, all such involvement should be truly voluntary, and no one should be pressured to participate.
Employers who decide they want to take action against office pools should consider reminding employees of company policies against illegal activity or streaming videos on company computers. Employers who do not already have such policies in place may want to create them with the help of legal counsel.
By putting some thought into your plans beforehand, you can meet your goals of surviving, and thriving, through March Madness.
IMAGE: Photo by Jeff Turner, via Wikimedia Commons
