FOOTBALL SEASON KICKS OFF MONTHS OF DECREASED PRODUCTIVITY FOR SOME WORKPLACES
Q: Now that college football and the NFL have kicked off, how widespread are betting pools in the workplace?
A: Sports wagering at work is not uncommon. It can range anywhere from a full-blown fantasy football league to weekly game-specific betting. To give you some idea of the scope of workplace betting, the American Gaming Association estimated that more than 40 million people participated in NCAA Basketball Tournament brackets and wagered in excess of $10.4 billion during March Madness this spring. So if football season has triggered sports betting at your job, you’re not alone.
Q: Are football pools illegal?
A: Technically, gambling on sporting events — including at work — violates federal and Oklahoma laws. As a practical matter, small-scale, low-wager football pools rarely draw the attention of law enforcement. Many employers view office football pools as inevitable and a way to cultivate camaraderie and employee morale.
Q: What issues should employers anticipate arising with workplace sports betting?
A: The No. 1 casualty is productivity. There’s no way around it: an office football pool or fantasy league is a distraction and inevitably cuts into the time employees would otherwise be carrying out their job responsibilities. Also, keep in mind that internet usage and social media play an important part in today’s office wagering.
Q: When it comes to football pools, what steps do you recommend employers taking?
A: First, understand that formal policies addressing office betting are rare. In a recent survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 81 percent of the employers questioned didn’t have a policy addressing office pools. Even more striking was the fact that for those employers that had an office betting policy, only 7 percent ever had disciplined an employee for violating the policy.
Take a practical approach. Your office shouldn’t be hosting large-scale and large amount betting events. Instead, office pools should be small-dollar, informal and not include participants outside the workplace. If too much work time is being spent on the activity, be sure to address productivity or interference with job performance issues immediately before they grow. Don’t be afraid to enforce other policies affected by employees’ participation in the office pool or fantasy league. For example, does their activity violate your company’s policies concerning social media or internet usage at work? Addressing an office football pool in a commonsense manner is the best path to fostering workplace morale, while minimizing the potential problems that can occur.