March Madness Meaningful

One former sportswriter on staff had a hard time coming to grips with the recent start of the NCAA Tournament.

His struggles had nothing to do with the fact the Arkansas Razorbacks failed to make the tournament (again), but rather the fact he couldn’t sneak off to a sports bar in the name of research. Alas, while chained to his desk, said sportswriter stumbled across some information that should be required reading for hard-driving bosses everywhere.

According to the fine folks at OfficeTeam, a California-headquartered staffing service, an independent survey of more than 1,000 senior managers revealed some pro-hoops statistics. The survey said, in fact, not only do 41 percent of the managers believe March Madness has a positive effect on employee morale, but 22 percent believe it actually boosts workers’ output.

“There’s no question the excitement generated by major sporting events can be a distraction at work,” OfficeTeam executive director Robert Hosking said in an accompanying press release. “However, it can be a healthy diversion if employers encourage team-building activities tied to the games.”

Said sportswriter undoubtedly will be presenting his boss with a copy of Hosking’s statement – and perhaps a blank bracket – next year.