Embracing March Madness at the Office

The NCAA's annual March Madness college basketball tournament officially kicked off this week, and a recent survey from Robert Half's Office Team examined what employers and employees are doing to recognize the tournament and how employees are engaging. The study found that companies are starting to see the benefits of recognizing external events like March Madness. It also illustrated ways these events can engage employees and boost internal morale. Some of Robert Half's findings are below:

• Nearly one in four senior managers (23 percent) say their employer organizes activities tied to sporting events like March Madness.
• Among those whose firms organize activities, the top benefit is showing the company supports a healthy blend of work and play (39 percent), followed by building camaraderie among colleagues (37 percent).
• More than half of employees (53 percent) reported celebrating sports events with office buddies.
• One-third (33 percent) of employees say they would most like to enjoy sports events like March Madness at work by watching games with colleagues.
• Two-thirds (66 percent) of workers believe celebrating sporting events in the office can boost employee happiness.
• Being a poor sport or overly competitive (30 percent) was identified as the most distracting or annoying coworker behavior during a tournament or sports season. Spending too much time talking sports (26 percent) came in second.
• Only 11 percent of employees feel they're less productive at work the day after a big game. Two-thirds (67 percent) say sporting events have no impact on their performance.