With March Madness almost over and the championships around the corner, people often wonder what impact sporting events like this have on their organization. How much productivity is lost? Is that a concern? Are there benefits?
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We recently had a chance to chat with Monster Career Expert, Vicki Salemi, about how the tournament—and other sporting events—can impact workplace culture. While it’s no surprise that productivity seems to drop, there are a few ways that events like March Madness can have a positive impact on your workday.
HR Daily Advisor: How do major sporting tournaments impact workplace productivity?
Vicki: Major sporting tournaments impact workplace productivity when workers spend time on their brackets—for instance, during March Madness—watching games, discussing the tournament and major upsets. It simply means they’re not working. This can and will decrease their productivity, as well as their focus, concentration, and quality of work.
HR Daily Advisor: How do employees spend work time focusing on March Madness?
Vicki: Employees spend work time focusing on March Madness in a variety of ways including watching games, discussing the tournament, following scores online, and more. In fact, recent poll data released by Monster shows nearly 31% of respondents spend at least one to three hours of their workday focusing on the tournament. Another 13.7% spend four to five hours on the tournament, showing just how impactful these exciting times can be on workplace productivity.
That doesn’t mean everyone is spending their time on March Madness, however. Monster also found that the majority (48%) of respondents said they stayed completely focused on their work.
HR Daily Advisor: Are there consequences to this? Any upsides?
Vicki: The consequences depend on how departments and/or companies instill policies and how they discipline this behavior. Some companies have gone as far as prohibiting bracket formation if they deem this as a form of betting.
An upside to employees focusing on March Madness is boosted camaraderie—a shared interest in the sporting tournament that can foster a sense of teamwork. The downside to this, as poll results show, is that not everyone may be interested in participating in the tournament or even care. So yes, while there is an upside here, companies that do promote March Madness involvement should be cognizant about not excluding individuals who don’t participate in the month-long event.
HR Daily Advisor: What should employers do about the amount of time their employees spend watching sporting events like March Madness? Should they embrace it?
Vicki: There’s a fine line here as employers know specific sporting events, like March Madness, mean their employees may be engrossed in following the tournament. But if they resist, however, it’s likely their employees will still try to follow along anyway.
Employers can embrace tournaments if they wish, but leadership should set an example. If there is knowledge that employees are gearing up for the tournament, leadership can take the stance to get into it, too, and offer to have the games play on TV, participate in bracket formation, etc. But leadership should also be sure to not over-embrace the fun to ensure that the primary focus is still on the workday.
HR Daily Advisor: Tips for HR around events like March Madness?
Vicki: Lead by example: If your company has a strict policy about not participating during the workday, then bosses need to adhere to this, as well. If a company wants to embrace it, however, then boundaries should be set with employees prior to tournament ramp-up.
A friendly office reminder can indicate that while this is an exciting time of year, this shouldn’t be a distraction or supersede the focus of work.
Set clear guidelines: A company’s goals should remain a priority for employees, but that doesn’t mean fun cannot be had. By setting clear guidelines, companies make it easier for employees to follow the guidelines, while also taking company culture into consideration. If the company has lenient policies on other things and embraces a boosted morale during the tournament, they may want to promote lax guidelines here, as well.