When Workers Wager, Does Production Slip?

Wagering in the Workplace: The NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing, prompting employees to use their workplaces as betting parlors. A recent survey by Vault Inc. said that 79 percent of employees surveyed admit to participating in office betting pools. Outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, quoted in the Detroit Free Press, says that "employers nationwide lose about $101 million in productivity for every 10 minutes their employees spend obsessing about the tournament." Also, massive growth in the number of gambling and sports Web sites is causing "a decrease in employee productivity, network bandwidth and computer security," according to Websense Inc., a computer security company in San Diego that makes software that blocks employees from randomly surfing the Web. It’s not just sporting events that cause people to waste time. According to Vault, "baby pools" and guessing the winners of the TV series "Survivor" are just as likely to trigger employee betting. While the alarm bells have sounded about wagering at work and the lost productivity caused by the distractions such as the Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament, some doubt that such events have a significant impact.

—Garry Kranz