March Madness for Employers - Revisited

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With the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicking off this week, there will be the inevitable dour reports that bracket filling, live streaming and fun (or even higher stakes) wagering will cost employers billions of dollars of productivity. According to these reports, over 80 million brackets will be filled out for the 68 teams in the tournament, making this an incomparable cultural event and one that inevitably will touch the workplace.

With eight teams from the Carolinas earning the right to play in the tournament, the games (and the fun) are in full swing and March Madness has taken over. 

What should a responsible employer do? 

- Embrace the Fun.  

Rather than clamp down on bracket talk completely, employers may be able to embrace the idea that a “happy worker is a productive worker.” Sure, parameters may be required: live streaming games all afternoon may sap both productivity and IT bandwidth. But allowing employees to dress in school colors or providing lunch and a TV in a common area can provide the right message that you can work and engage in some March Madness fun at the same time.

- Provide Alternatives to Illegal Gambling.

Employers should not condone and/or facilitate, much less pressure employees to participate in, illegal gambling. While most authorities consider low fee bracket pools to be a minimal risk for criminal investigation, many of these pools are against the law. And there are instances of individuals being charged and/or suffering adverse employment consequences for running or participating (usually high stakes) pools. Plus, some employees will have religious or moral objections to being pressured or forced to pay money to participate in office pools. No-fee pools and other events can make bracket-filling fun without risking legal liability.

A version of this Insight was originally published on March 15, 2017. To read original Insight, click here.

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