No work will be done at Rotogrinders.com next Monday. The company gives its staffers the day off after the Super Bowl and Rotogrinders’ two-day celebration of the game.
Chief Operating Officer Cameron MacMillan doesn’t worry about one day’s lost productivity; he sees the day off as an investment in his staffers who run a website for fantasy sports fans. He also shrugs it off when employees of the Nashville-based company talk about the game when they’re on the clock.
“What we give, we’ll get back,” says MacMillan, whose company hosts a party for staffers and their friends with a basketball game, mechanical bull rides and plenty of food.
And when March Madness arrives, MacMillan will also be happy to have staffers watching the first round of the basketball tournament at their desks.
In this undated image provided by Cameron MacMillan, Brian Hourigan works at the Better Collective Tennessee, RotoGrinders.com office in downtown Nashville, Tenn., as NCAA college basketball plays on a television screen above. Sports can be a distraction at work the first few months of the year as pro football and college basketball hold their premier events. Business owners have to make a choice, whether, like McMillan at RotoGrinders.com, they’ll allow or encourage staffers to enjoy the moment, or demand that everyone focus on work. (Cameron MacMillan via AP)Sports can be a distraction at work the first few months of the year as pro football and college basketball hold their premier events. Business owners must choose – whether, like MacMillan, they’ll allow or encourage staffers to enjoy the moment, or demand that everyone focus on work. For many, the answer is to let staffers have some fun as long as they get their tasks done. Bosses realize that sports chatter and Super Bowl or NCAA celebrations are morale boosters and strengthen staffers’ ties to their jobs, something that’s increasingly important in a tight labor market. But employment law attorneys and human resources consultants have some caveats for owners, particularly when it comes to office betting pools.
Although interest in the Super Bowl is widespread – nearly 100 million people watched it on TV last year – lengthy conversations about the game, halftime show and commercials can rankle owners. The same goes for March Madness, the Olympics and the World Cup.
“I’ve had clients who have complained about the amount of downtime that these events have caused. They ask, ‘should we limit it?'” says Mark Kluger, an employment law attorney in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.
That can be shortsighted, Kluger says.
“The past few years, it’s been more difficult to find employees,” Kluger says. “Employers do have to be more sensitive to keeping employees happy.”