To instigate a cordial environment at the workplace, companies believe in celebrating certain festivals together without fail. During the celebration of any given occasion, the employees try to follow the age-old rituals and cherish the delightful day together. With the changing times, the style of celebrations in the office is also evolving. People no more celebrate only social occasions marked in the calendar on a regular basis. Any event which brings the people of the office together to enjoy it is given preference by the company. One such occasion is the March Madness Pool in office. Just like employees look forward to the Christmas celebrations every year, nowadays people await this Bracket Pool and perform all the necessary ‘rituals’ as well.
According to the statistics of the American Gaming Association this year, it estimates that Americans will bet around $10.4 billion in the March Madness. This is a significant increase by 13% in comparison to last year. It is also estimated that at least 81.5 million office workers will indulge in this Bracket Pool. It becomes the responsibility of the manager to take care of various aspects to dodge any kind of risks caused by gambling.
How March Madness can cause trouble to the company
There was a time when businesses were confined to the four walls of the office or the maximum extent of its reach would be the given city. As the world is becoming a global village, the reach of the business is not restricted due to geographical lines. All kinds of companies aim to spread their business worldwide and set up offices at different places to fulfill the purpose. While organizing a March Madness Bracket Pool at the workplace, the company needs to first look up the laws of the state in terms of gambling.
March Madness is a growing social trend at the workplace.
There are a number of places where gambling of any sort is an illegal activity. If not illegal, it might come under a legal gray area in other places. Before organizing any such pool in the office, the manager must first look up the local regulations of the place to avoid a breach of any federal laws. It will be an unpleasant affair if a vehicle with a siren drives up to the office due to any such violation. If nothing else, it will ruin the fun of the office pool. At times there are cases when people get addicted to gambling. Even though the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) exempt it from its coverage, it is still a serious problem. Therefore make sure that an employee with such a problem is not encouraged to participate in it. Even if he does, one must keep a check on his involvement.
Bracket Pool’s influence on overall work productivity
Some managers believe that organization of the March Madness Pool can be good for the employee morale. But one needs to be vary that there can be some people who object to such a practice. If there is an employee who is against online gambling on religious or ethical grounds, never force this kind of individual to participate. It is important to respect the personal opinions of a person. Also, make sure that his peers don’t ridicule him for the same. If someone laughs at a person for not participating in an event, the work environment will become hostile for him. He will lose interest and will to work which will reflect in the results as well.
It is possible if employees stream ball games during their work hours, it might cause deterioration of their work productivity. It does not matter if a person dedicates only an hour or two in the entire day to it. His mind will be preoccupied with the March Madness all day. If few employees are busy watching games at work, it might slow down the network of work for the others.
March Madness as a social occasion is an innovative way to ensure involvement of employees. It promotes the spread of a friendly yet pleasant vibe at the workplace. But as the Bracket Pool involves gambling, the manager must be alert to avoid any kind of undesirable incident. Such an incident might cause inconvenience to the company or the employees.