Fantasy football has rocketed in popularity since the inception of the hobby in 1963. Approximately 24.3 million people play fantasy football, which involves drafting and fielding a team of players from the National Football League and pitting them against opposing teams in a league format.
The hobby can become an all-consuming passion for participants, causing some to use working time to talk about and manage their team and/or league.
Is this an issue?
If employees want to huddle up for a few minutes to compare injury reports and statistics, or try to work out trades, fantasy football might not be a bad way to encourage team-building. It offers a safe avenue for small talk.
It’s best, however, for employers to not to let a discussion get out of hand.
Fantasy football distractions can involve more than discussions with coworkers. While talking about a team’s highs and lows may take a few minutes, it’s likely to be dwarfed by the amount of time an employee might spend researching injury reports and player matchups in an effort to put together a winning lineup.
This research can easily be done online, although using the company’s computer to shore up a fantasy football lineup or analyze game statistics is likely not the best use of corporate bandwidth. That’s where a company’s Internet policy may come into play. A policy that prohibits employees from using the company Internet resources for non-company activities could be an effective way to curtail gridiron research.
While some employees might attempt to get around this issue by using a smartphone to plan their fantasy lineups, this also may not be a good idea since many companies have policies addressing cell phone use during work time.
Workers, and managers, should stay on top of this because fantasy football can impact the bottom line. One survey estimated that fantasy football players spend nine hours each week managing their teams. A portion of that total might occur during work hours. A separate study by outplacement consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated that fantasy football costs businesses $430.9 million per week in lost productivity — or $6.5 billion across the typical 15-week fantasy season.
Another Challenger, Gray & Christmas study, however, found that even if people are checking their team’s stats while they’re at work, the drag on productivity and resources is not perceived as substantial. Its poll of corporate human resources professionals found that 70 percent of respondents rated the company distraction as a four or lower on a scale of one to 10.
In moderation, fantasy football is not likely to disrupt a workplace, and could have a positive impact. Trusting that employees will get their work done in a high-quality manner, and that they know how to juggle both their jobs and the responsibilities of fantasy football team ownership, can build morale.
Because of the time that can be involved in participants securing a championship-caliber starting lineup, however, a company might want to think twice about offering an employer-sanctioned fantasy league.
Terri Dougherty is an associate editor for J. J. Keller & Associates, a nationally recognized compliance resource firm.
