In January and February it was the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.  This month it’s basketball that could adversely affect productivity in offices all over the country. 

In The (Overblown) Cost of March Madness on Forbes.com, it’s estimated that this productivity loss could amount to over $3.5 billion — yes, that’s billion with a ‘b!’  The article questions that huge number, but even if it is way off, productivity will be impacted.

Unlike the Super Bowl, NCAA tournament games are played during the work day.  And most will be available online for free.  Oops.  I probably shouldn’t have told you that, but if you’re a basketball fan, you knew it already, didn’t you?

But is it ethical to watch basketball games during work?  And, do you run the risk of getting caught?  I can’t resist repeating a quote from the Forbes.com article — a quote by Nancy Flynn, the Executive Director of the ePolicy Institute:

“Surf at your own risk.”

Take heed!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 5:00 am and is filed under World of Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.