Posted by Niwantha Kodituwakku.
The month of March is not only the beginning of Spring but is also the beginning of one of the most thrilling college basketball tournaments. Sixty-four selected teams ranked from seeds, one through sixteen, enter a pool and face-off in single elimination to eventually have one winner crowned champion in the month of April. Not only is this exciting for the average fan, but it’s also exciting for businesses because of the large income generated by the tournament. However, although money is made, to what extent does the distraction of this tournament have an effect on businesses vulnerable to productivity, legal risks, and morale?
Recently, I read an article pointing out that the productivity of workers plummets during March Madness. This is obviously a huge concern. The article posted on theguardian.com states that in 2015 up to about 1.9 billion dollars was lost due to the distraction of March Madness. Up to 50 million workers participated in March Madness and up to 9 billion will be wagered in filling out more than 70 million brackets. This is a huge concern for businesses especially for companies that run on a quarterly basis. Loss of productivity for even a small amount of time will impact the performance of the company. Also, the fact that gambling is taking place between workers is also a huge ethical concern. The fact that workers can’t morally say no to gambling shows that certain workers may be untrustworthy and in denial.
I think the general solution for this would be to abide by the concept “work time always must be for work” so they are free to watch during their break time. Also, businesses should also look to capitalize on team building aspect march madness brings like employees wearing their team colors to work. This would help the company’s employees get more comfortable with their colleagues and building stronger relationships. Finally, speaking to the workers that gamble on march madness may lighten the concerns surrounding what’s right and wrong to do around the workplace.
Niwantha is a finance major at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, Class of 2018.