March Madness is exciting, but it is a productivity bust. Andy Challenger at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said 81 million workers are researching their brackets, watching games in the break room or streaming them on office PCs:
“Ends up costing employers about $2.1 billion paid to employees who are otherwise distracted and not doing their work,” Challenger said. But Challenger warns that employers should do nothing; banning office pools and game watching is guaranteed to kill morale.
