Extra games and wider access to coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball “March Madness” on smart phones and tablets could increase workplace distractions to the tune of $192 million over the next three weeks, says outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Challenger estimates that total online viewership during work hours is likely to reach at least 8.4 million hours during this year’s tournament, which begins with special qualifying games on Tuesday.
Multiply that by the average hourly earnings of $22.87 among private-sector workers and the financial impact exceeds $192 million, says CEO John A. Challenger.
But before employers yell “intentional foul,” Challenger offers some perspective.
“The 8.4 million hours lost to March Madness is a relative drop in the bucket, accounting for less than one-tenth of one percent (about 0.07 percent) of the total hours American workers will put in over the three weeks of the tournament,” he said.
Still, the impact is palpable.
“The situation is comparable to a traffic accident, which does not have any measurable impact on the overall economy, but if you happen to be stuck in the resulting congestion and arrive late to work because of it, it has an immediate and noticeable impact on your day’s productivity,” Challenger said.
“For an office with 50 to 100 workers, five or 10 people streaming basketball games will definitely have an impact on everyone else’s Internet speed.”
His tip to employers: Embrace March Madness as a way to build employee morale and camaraderie, Challenger says. This could mean putting televisions in the break room, so employees have somewhere to watch the games other than the Internet.
