Le March Madness va coûter 3.8 milliards en Amérique...$3,793,910,400
March Madness
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
Challenger: ‘Employers Not Eager For Hoops Tournament’
SEES $3.8 BILLION IN LOST PRODUCTIVITY
The decision by CBS Sports to offer free online viewing of men’s college basketball games during the annual NCAA championship tournament (better known as March Madness) is great news for hoops fans but it could be disastrous for the nation’s employers, who will undoubtedly see a significant drop-off in worker productivity.
The cost of this productivity drain could prove to be substantial over the three weeks of the tournament. In fact, for every 13.5 minutes workers spend on the Internet watching March Madness games, which begin on March 16, the cost to employers in lost wages alone exceeds $237 million. Over the 16 days of the tournament that could reach as high as $3.8 billion, according to an estimate released Tuesday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The decline in productivity will not begin on March 16. It will actually begin on March 13, the day after the NCAA selection committee announces the 65 teams that made the tournament.
'Beginning that Monday, college basketball fans across the country will begin organizing office pools and researching teams for their brackets. Even people who do not follow college basketball for the entire season can easily get wrapped up in the excitement of March Madness and trying to pick the winners,' said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The Challenger figure of $237 million in lost wages every 13.5 minutes is based on the current average hourly wage for all American workers -- $18.00 per hour, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At that rate, workers earn $4.05 every 13.5 minutes, which was the average amount of time fans spent per session on the ESPN.com college basketball website during the 2005 NCAA basketball, according to Hitwise, a company that monitors website use.
Challenger estimates that 58,548,000 workers will come down with 'March Madness,' based on a 2005 Gallup Poll indicating that 41 percent of Americans are fans of college basketball. That percentage was simply applied to the total number of employed Americans (142.8 million), resulting in the 58,548,000 figure.
'Of course, our estimate of $237 million is the amount in lost wages if workers spend just 13.5 minutes on basketball sites during the tournament. The reality is that they will likely spend much more time online during the work day keeping track of games and managing their brackets,' said Challenger.
'If we estimate conservatively that fans will spend 13.5 minutes online each day, beginning March 13 and continuing through the championship game on Monday, April 3, that is 16 business days. The total hit to employers’ bottom lines could amount to $3.8 billion. The cost may end up being much higher, since it will now be possible to watch entire games on the Internet,' said Challenger.
CBS Sports announced in December that it will offer out-of-market basketball games for free online during NCAA March Madness. That is a dramatic shift from a year ago when it cost fans $19.95 to view games online.
According to CBS, there will be as many as 56 NCAA men's tournament games available on the Web (
http://www.CSTV.com), beginning with the first games and continuing through the regional semi-finals.
The website will definitely be popular for working basketball junkies, since first-round games typically begin as early as noon eastern time on Thursday and Friday (March 13 and 14). The regional (third round) games are also played during the work day (Thursday, March 23 and Friday, March 24).
Does this mean that employers should clamp down on basketball websites and enabling activities, such March Madness office pools?
'Not at all,' says Challenger. 'In fact, companies should try to find a way to take advantage of employees’ excitement over the tournament. This may not only help build morale, but it may also help the company control the amount of productivity lost.
'Additionally, office pools may have other benefits, such as bringing together workers who might not have interacted otherwise. This helps with team building, which leads to greater performance in many areas of business,' said Challenger.
'Companies may want to expand their Internet blockers to include college basketball sites and they may want to encourage workers to refrain from watching entire games at their desks. However, there is no reason a company cannot institute a companywide pool, which employees can enter for free and winners receive some type of gift, such as an extra day off or a restaurant gift certificate,' Challenger suggested.
Challenger offered some additional ideas on ways companies can co-opt March Madness excitement to build a loyal and more productive workforce.
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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
February(28, 2006)
MARCH MADNESS WORKPLACE MORALE BOOSTERS
1. Organize a company pool. Employees can enter free of charge and the winner is given a gift certificate to a restaurant or store.
2. Offer flexible schedules. On the four days when tournament games are played during work hours, allow workers the opportunity to arrive early so they can work a full shift and still leave in time to see the games.
3. Keep television in breakroom tuned to coverage.
4. Team sweatshirt day. Relax the dress code (for employees not meeting with customers) for the first Friday of the tournament so that fans can wear the sweatshirt of their favorite college team (even if the team did not qualify for this year's tourney).
5. Pick 64 MVPs. Symbolizing the 64 teams initially in the tournament, companies could bestow Most Valuable Player honors on exceptional workers chosen ahead of time by supervisors. For companies with fewer than 64 employees, MVPs could be designated for the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, or Final Four.
6. Keep a bracket posted. For employers without companywide Internet access, keep a large, updated tournament bracket in a common area so workers can check their teams' progress.
7. Offer anti-tourney prizes. Give the non-basketball fanatics in the office a chance to win. Those who are not interested in the tournament can enter their names in a special raffle drawing for an afternoon off or a special gift from an area retailer.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.©
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
February(28, 2006)
March Madness 2006
BY THE NUMBERS
65: Number of teams that will participate in NCAA tournament
58,548,000: Number of American workers who are college basketball fans.
13.5 minutes: Average time spent on college hoops Internet sites during tournament.
$4.05: Average amount earned every 13.5 minutes by American workers.
$237,119,400: The cost to employers nationwide in lost, unproductive wages for each 13.5 minutes of time wasted on the Internet.
$3,793,910,400 or more: Total amount March Madness could cost employers over 16 business days of tournament.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.©
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par masterofmullets » Mar Mars 14, 2006 11:58 am 
Jeremy est né le 28.04.06 et Fanny le 17.07.09 
