Firms could face $800m tab for pre-game pontificating
NEW YORK -- If office work has taken a back seat to football chatter, it must be the annual Super Bowl slowdown.
Excitement over what has become the biggest single sporting event of the year in the United States may actually end up costing employers some $800 million in lost productivity the week before the big game, a report said yesterday.
In Chicago and Indianapolis, the two cities whose National Football League teams will face off on Feb. 4 in Miami, losses could reach $85 million in the run-up to the game, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Assuming employees, for example, spend 10 minutes a day talking about the game, making bets, surfing the Internet, or shopping for a new television, their bosses will lose some $162 million per day. In a five-day workweek, that adds up to $810 million, based on average earnings and expected viewership.
Then there is the day after the championship when people discuss the game's plays and the TV commercials, or simply call in sick, resulting in more money lost, the outplacement consultant reported.
Chief executive John Challenger suggests companies use the Super Bowl to build morale or encourage communication among workers, rather than focusing on lost productivity.
"There are always distractions in the workplace," Challenger said. "The Super Bowl is just one more." 