March brings ‘Madness’ to workplace

That makes a fine line to tread for managers, who may worry about damaging morale by killing the fun and camaraderie brought by March Madness.

Experts say many employers already disallow gambling or similar illegal activities in the workplace and managers should set the tone for employees.

According to Georgia law, gambling in March Madness office pools could be a violation of criminal law and, if classified as commercial gambling, could lead to a minimum of one year up to five years in prison, along with a $20,000 fine, according to Fisher & Phillips attorney Tracy Moon.

“There’s significant risk to managers, particularly if they’re involved,” Moon said.

However, the reality is that it’s unlikely anyone will ever be prosecuted for March Madness pools.

Moon still recommends that if such activity violates company policy, managers should make sure employees know “that it will not be allowed on company property during work time.” Managers could also go directly to employees who have organized past pools and inform them of the issue.

Deborah Keary, vice president of human resources for the Virginia-based Society for Human Resource Management, said even if such cases will never be prosecuted, “It’s a philosophical issue. If you say you can’t do illegal things in the workplace like steal intellectual property or fraud, are you going to make a bunch of exceptions? I just think illegal is illegal.”

Keary said making exceptions to company policies can especially become a problem if managers are the ones bending the rules.

“If the manager is running the brackets and setting up the betting — not a good idea,” she said, since employees may feel they have to participate as a result. “Same with Girl Scout cookies. If your manager is selling, do you have to buy a box? I think managers have extra influence that way and they have to be careful about what they ask people to do.”

Moon said the pressure to participate is one of the risks, no matter who may be running the pool.

“(Some employees) don’t know the first thing about the any of the teams,” Moon said. “They feel like they’re just throwing their money away.”

Beyond legal ramifications, Moon and others say the real issue is the risk of a sharp decline in productivity when everyone’s attention is on streaming video of games on their computers, iPhones or televisions.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas publishes a playful annual estimate of how much productivity is lost during March Madness, estimating the cost to companies is at least $1.2 billion for every unproductive work hour in the first week of the tournament, with an estimated 50 million Americans participating in March Madness office pools.

To be sure, some managers see March Madness as a boost to productivity because of improved communication between employees who may not normally talk to each other.

Nearly a third of senior managers say NCAA tournament activities, like watching games and office pools that are not tied to money, boost employee morale, according to a survey by temporary staffing firm OfficeTeam.

Stephanie Searcy, regional vice president of staffing firm Robert Half International, suggested that in lieu of betting pools, managers consider March Madness office contests that offer a half-day off or a gift card to winners, or encouraging employees to wear team colors to work.

At Coca-Cola’s Atlanta headquarters, a Coke Zero viewing lounge will be set up in its cafeteria for employees with a pop-up shot competition for employees to try during their breaks and bracket displays in the lobby updated in real-time.

“A lot of people have taken on additional responsibilities in the last few years,” Searcy said. “I think activities tied to things like March Madness offer opportunities for those employees to kind of re-charge, spend time with co-workers.”