Studies show employers lose billions in productivity during March Madness

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - If you’ve been distracted by basketball this week, you are not alone.

Reports show the NCAA Tournament can be a drain on productivity in the workplace. Estimates show it can cost employers billions.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a work outplacement firm, adds it all up to as much as $17.3 billion in lost productivity. That’s $1 billion more than last year because employment and wages have increased.

A FinanceBuzz survey found that 36%, more than a third of workers, admit to watching March Madness during the workday. That same survey found that a quarter of workers have used paid time off or sick days to stay home and watch March Madness. That includes 11% saying they’ve used sick days and 4% saying they used PTO and sick leave.

With an uptick in remote workers since the start of the pandemic. It’s hard now to put a definite amount on the impact march madness could have on productivity.

There are a number of different reports and surveys about this each year. Many give similar advice: bosses, find a way to embrace it. Use it for team-building or to boost morale.

Experts say setting some guidelines and having some fun with it can actually help out in the long run.

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