March Madness or March Sadness?
We all know the upheaval caused by March Madness every year. Each company has to determine on their own what stance to take on dealing with March Madness in the workplace. The question is “Will it be ‘March Madness’ or ‘March sadness’ this year at your company?”
We can’t answer what approach is best for your situation, but here we have compiled a list of considerations. We encourage you to weigh the pros and cons to determine the best approach within your organization for March Madness this year.
March Madness Pros and Cons for Companies:
Pros: * March Madness can create a sense of camaraderie among co-workers * Acceptance of March Madness shows interest in employees * This time of year presents opportunities for your company to practice work-life balance in developing compromises concerning March Madness * March Madness can create more opportunity for you to integrate fun and relevant motivational office community through pools (keep in mind it is not okay to gain profit from pools, but gift cards are okay) * March Madness often boosts office morale * Watching the games can both encourage competition and team work skills * Many experts suggest that for large companies, the financial loss for distracted employees is small
Cons: * Individual productivity can suffer due to the distraction of games and brackets * Straining company bandwidth which can influence productivity by slowing everyone’s internet * Last year, employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated employers could pay distracted workers $175 million during March Madness Keep in mind the importance of morale and work-life balance. You may be in a situation where you absolutely have to enforce serious restrictions regarding March Madness. Still, try to avoid creating “March Sadness.” Hurting productivity can be a significant set-back.
