March Madness = Lost Productivity?

You may recall that I tackled this “problem” last year. Del Jones addresses this myth — with the help of a familiar economist — in the USA Today:

March Madness, with its office pools and other distractions, will cost U.S. companies $1.17 billion in lost productivity. Or will it?

There is confusion. Staffing company Spherion says 23% of workers watch or follow sports on their computer at work. “Companies could really take a hit,” says Spherion’s Nancy Halverson.

[...]

Last year, Challenger estimated March Madness cost $3.8 billion, but it recalculated after realizing that two-thirds of workers don’t have Internet access on the job. Challenger spokesman James Pedderson says the surveys are “kind of tongue-in-cheek and lighthearted.” And, a moving target. It reported 2005 March Madness losses at $886 million before the $3.8 billion in 2006 and $1.17 billion this year.

[...]

Wayne State University economist Josh Hendrickson says there are several flaws in time-theft estimates. For one, the computers used to goof off are largely responsible for the huge jump in productivity over 20 years, he says, and idle workers may be doing the company a favor if they surf rather than distract busy co-workers.

The biggest flaw, Hendrickson says, is the presumption that workers have no downtime. Time wasted on March Madness is likely being stolen from time wasted elsewhere, he says.