It’s every college basketball lover’s favorite time of the year – March Madness! This is an exciting time with all of the upsets, Cinderella stories and last minute three-pointers. It’s an equally exciting boost for company morale, with friendly competition, and many opportunities to get better acquainted with co-workers. While an estimated $1.2 billion is lost in productivity during March Madness, at Marketing Works, we see a spike in, laughter, spirited conversation, and generally good moods.
Seventy percent of HR professionals believe office pools play a positive role in relationship building. Statistics also point to added benefits of team building and employee engagement. Here are three reasons why March Madness pools can truly benefit your company culture:
1. Enhances teamwork and relationship building. With everyone in the office participating in a March Madness pool, it illustrates that there is a common interest shared among the team. Discussing your brackets and the results of recent games helps to build relationships and form a stronger bond. Plan a team outing to watch the basketball games offsite. Or give a day off to watch the games as a recruiting tool.
2. Boosts employee morale. March Madness spices up the usual daily events at the office, keeping things exciting with changes in the bracket standings and anticipation for upcoming games. This provides employees the opportunity to discuss something they are passionate about and gives them another reason to look forward to coming to work!
3. Increases the ability to multi-task. Most employees juggle multiple projects at once, but perhaps have not yet mastered the skill of multi-tasking. Utilizing March Madness as a way to take quick breaks from your tasks at hand, rather than as a distraction, may help to improve multi-tasking skills. Make sure not to get too focused on the games though. Check the scores for just a few minutes at a time and then get back to that project you were working on.
What other ways do you think March Madness pools benefit your company culture? Let us know in the comment section!