March Madness 2009

For those of us who follow basketball, this is THE time of year, especially if our team is in the NCAA tournament (a special shout out to the Mississippi State Bulldogs). We will be glued to whatever media we can to get our fix of scores and analysis.

Every year at this time, the HR consulting firm of Challenger Gray puts out their estimate of the amount of lost productivity due to employees watching the basketball games during work. Last year the estimate was $1.2B for 2007 (a number widely ridiculed by Slate and others...see my post last year).

A funny thing happened this year, though. CG decided not to put out their estimate, citing the economy: “In light of the fact that employers and employees have more important things to worry about, we feel that any attempt to estimate the impact of March Madness
on productivity would be counterproductive and inappropriate," John Challenger said in a statement.

So, what about it? Are you still going to watch the games online while at work? How much time will you spend? I'll probably spend an hour or two per business day (more if MSU gets past round 2). Let me hear from you. And don't worry...I won't tell your boss!!