A $6.5 billion loss that may be worth it

As the pre-season heats up, so do the fantasy football rosters of millions of Americans. A new survey says it creates a distraction in the workplace, possibly costing U.S. employers a collective $6.5 billion dollars in lost productivity. But, they also say, it may be worth it.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas conducted a survey of HR professionals to find out how employers respond this 15-week obsession. They estimate 22.3 million working Americans engage in fantasy football and spend about an hour a week manipulating their rosters on their employer’s dime. At $19.33 for an average wage, that’s how they got to the $6.5 billion figure.

Of those HR professionals surveyed, about 42 percent said they don’t care if employees play on company time, as long as they keep up with their responsibilities. Why shrug off such a time suck? Because, the firm says, it actually helps boost employee morale.

As CEO John Challenger told Forbes magazine, “The Internet technology that helped fuel the rapid growth of fantasy football participation and makes it possible to manage teams from one’s desk also makes it possible for employees to attend to work duties during their personal time.”

It really is a whole new world of work-life balance. As more Americans respond to emails at their kids’ soccer games, they feel entitled to spend a little of their traditional working hours trading fantasy football players. In fact, Challenger says, some employers are actually encouraging this.

“Companies that not only allow workers to indulge in fantasy football, but actually encourage it by organizing company leagues, are likely to see significant benefits in morale as well as productivity,” Challenger says.

Studies show one of the most critical factors for employee engagement is the relationship to their immediate supervisor. If employers put the supervisor in the unenviable role of policing time at work – especially when personal hours are spent tending to work – they’re setting that relationship up to fail. Instead, employers and supervisors need to understand our mobile realities. Fantasy football isn’t the only work distraction. Smart phone apps for Facebook and Hollywood gossip can also monopolize a workers’ time.

HR professionals can play an important role in managing all distractions by helping supervisors set expectations and communicate them to employees throughout the year – not just during fantasy football season. Clear expectations about the work that needs to get done will make it easier for supervisors to crack down on anyone who turns a casual indulgence into an obsession that impacts productivity be it picking out shoes or fantasy football players.

Another strategy is to encourage employees to hold each other accountable for getting work done. As hard as coworkers play together on their fantasy teams, they also work hard together. They all know there are things out there that compete for their attention, but they also know they need balance to make work meaningful. A world without work distractions? Now that’s a fantasy.

Michelle Hicks, a senior professional in human resources, is a director in the engagement practice of Buck Consultants, a Xerox company.