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Business Beat: Don't sweat fantasy figures, expert says

Study indicates $10 billion workplace loss due to online sports, but crackdown could be costlier

Mike Ivey  —  8/27/2008 5:28 am

When it comes to wasting office time playing fantasy sports, I know many who would plead guilty.

But have your ever considered what it costs your company?

A new survey from a Chicago-based business consultant estimates a $10.5 billion hit to the U.S. economy from work time spent on fantasy sports.

That's almost 30 times the annual budget for the Madison Metropolitan School District, or nearly twice the gross domestic product for the entire east African nation of Somalia.

Either way, it's a lot of money.

So how was that $10 billion figure reached? Simple math.

Some 17 million Americans play fantasy sports annually, with about 13.6 million playing fantasy football, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. On average, players reportedly spend 1.19 hours per week at the office researching and managing their teams.

And these fantasy fanatics, for the most part, are high-wage individuals.

The Fantasy Sports Association estimates that 70 percent of fantasy football participants earn between $50,000 and $149,000 per year -- with the average around $80,000 or $38 per hour.

Using those figures, consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. estimated that the cost to employers for fantasy football amounts to $45.22 in lost wages per worker, per week.

That alone may not seem like much. But multiply 13.6 million unproductive workers times the 17-week NFL season and the total damage to the U.S. economy reaches nearly $10.5 billion.

There's a catch, however.

John Challenger, chief executive officer of the firm that produced the estimate, insists that trying to stop workers from managing their team on company time may decrease employee morale, resulting in even less productivity.

"Obviously, there are daily distractions in the workplace that are universal, whether it's a trip to the washroom or sharing celebrity gossip around the watercooler," he explains. "Fantasy football is just one more of these distractions."

Indeed. With the growth of the Internet and the widespread use of e-mail and cell phones, it's more likely than ever that work overlaps with personal lives -- and vice versa.

For that reason, Challenger says employers should only crack down on workers whose performance is clearly suffering from the added distractions.

"An across-the-board ban on all fantasy football or sports Web sites could backfire in the form of reduced morale and loyalty," he says. "The result could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 to 20 minutes of team management each day."

In fact, some research even suggests that allowing workers to indulge in fantasy football or organizing a company league brings significant benefits for morale and productivity.

A 2006 Ipsos Survey found that 40 percent of respondents said fantasy sports participation was a positive influence on their workplace. Another 40 percent said it increases camaraderie among employees. One in five even said their involvement in fantasy sports helped them make a valuable business contact.

Another survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity found that 65 percent of business professionals are using social networking sites daily. Some fantasy football applications that are now embedded in social networking sites such as Facebook make it easier for players to check their statistics.

Word is that Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has even been known to check the baseball box scores on his laptop during lengthy council debates.

East side chain gang

Aside from displaced workers, few are shedding tears over the closing of the Carlos O'Kelly's restaurant that graced the front of the East Towne Mall parking lot for the past decade.

In its place, there are two other national chain eateries: Qdoba Grill and BD Mongolian Grill.

Which had me wondering: Whatever happened to buy local?

I put the question to Ald. Joe Clausius, whose District 17 stretches along both sides of East Washington Avenue from Wisconsin 30 past East Towne.

Clausius said getting new tenants into the Carlos O'Kelly's quickly eliminates the problem of a vacant building and a graffiti target on East Washington Avenue.

But he said the east side is fully committed to local restaurants.

"District 17 boasts at least three of the best burger spots in the city with Brothers Three, The Sports Pub and Murphy's Tavern, all three locally owned and operated," he says.

Clausius adds that the Prime Quarter, owned by Al Sanger, and Pedro's Mexican Restaurant, owned by Jim Martine, are "two of the most successful and longtime restaurants in the city, both heavily patronized by local residents."

"Al and Jim are both very involved in local neighborhood issues and the district and I count on them a lot," he says.

District 17 also boasts the locally owned Ale Asylum brewpub and the legendary La Bamba "for our very late-night diners," notes Clausius.

No reason not to drop a dime locally.

Mike Ivey  —  8/27/2008 5:28 am