Firm Estimates Fantasy Football Costs American Employers $13 Billion Per Year

[PolarBear]

Your bathroom breaks scrape the 10-minute mark.

Your phone battery bleeds out by 4 p.m. You can hardly look yourself in the eye most Monday mornings.

Why? Why is this happening to you? Because fantasy football is back, and your payday is now a weekly point-count.

Obsessing over fantasy football is a cross most NFL fans bear, and a recent investigation claims the constant fussing over rosters at work is costing American employers a healthy wad of bills.

Brian Ach/Associated Press


The Chicago Tribune’s Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz brings us the story of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement consultancy tasked with the job of determining how much companies are losing in productivity due to workers tinkering with their fantasy lineups on the job.

After dialing in their calculations to workers on private, nonfarm payrolls, the firm estimates fantasy football is costing businesses around $13.4 billion annually for the 15-week fantasy football schedule.



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Thirteen billion. With a B.

The same firm estimated in 2012 that fantasy football was costing employers $6.5 billion per year, perAndy Vuong of The Denver Post. So, yes, the costs of lost productivity have doubled in the past two years.

Granted, the company admits that putting a finite figure on fantasy football’s effect on business is "absurd." They also claim they’re not on a witch hunt to end fun in the workplace.

"We are not trying to demonize fantasy football," CEO John A. Challenger said in a statement, perElejalde-Ruiz. "It is important to understand that there are more distractions than ever in today’s workplace. If it’s not fantasy football, it’s the latest Hollywood gossip, shopping on Amazon or checking Facebook."

The craziest part about CGC’s estimate is that it’s probably a low one. The company based its calculations guardedly, assuming 59 percent of the 31 million working-age Americans who play fantasy football are only spending two hours a week researching players at work.

As someone who’s spent two hours a week just hate-staring at Maurice Jones-Drew’s injury icon, I’d call that conservative.

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Maurice Jones-Drew, now with the Raiders.


In any case, the firm asserts that companies would, ironically, decrease productivity by clamping down on fantasy football, citing the devastation it would have on morale. Instead, they encourage companies to form their own fantasy football leagues to foster camaraderie.

Consider this a TPS report memo, corporate America. Let’s build real teams by building fake teams.

Fewer meetings, more fantasy. This is my platform. Let’s take America into the playoffs this year.

 

[Billy Baroo]

Lol. Hope my boss doesn't read this crap. He'd believe it!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

After years of telling employees to 'Get off the fucking phone!' and coming on sites like this one and reading that guys are watching movies at work on YouTube or like some I knew were playing on-line role play games while at work, I believe that employers are losing billions since the creation of the Worl Wide Web.

But then I think that the flow of information and easy access to goods brought about since the invention of the internet, has allowed employers to cut staff and streamline their businesses, thus making them billions!

So I call it a wash.

 

[-X-]

As someone who’s spent two hours a week just hate-staring at Maurice Jones-Drew’s injury icon, I’d call that conservative.

That's pretty funny. Hate-staring.
Can't employers simply put a web filter on their network though?

 

[LesBaker]

As someone who’s spent two hours a week just hate-staring at Maurice Jones-Drew’s injury icon, I’d call that conservative.

That's pretty funny. Hate-staring.
Can't employers simply put a web filter on their network though?

They can and some do, I know someone who works in a large office environment. You cannot access facebook, twitter or any other social media on company computers, and several other sites are not accessible. They were losing very large amounts of production. The web in some cases isn't a big deal, by for a lot of companies it can be a problem.

 

[-X-]

They can and some do, I know someone who works in a large office environment. You cannot access facebook, twitter or any other social media on company computers, and several other sites are not accessible. They were losing very large amounts of production. The web in some cases isn't a big deal, by for a lot of companies it can be a problem.

Yeah. Employers are also legally permitted to monitor web traffic on their network, so you'd think all they'd have to do is (a) say they're doing it, and (b) make an example of someone who's been discovered to have been slacking off by surfing the web. Of course all of that is made moot by having a cell phone in a 4G area.

 

[Akrasian]

Block fun on the internet, and office workers would go back to long discussions about tv last night by the water cooler.

What this doesn't address is whether actual productivity is declining because of fantasy football, or whether people take breaks and then work harder than they'd be able to otherwise. For instance, I build online advertising campaigns - when I hit a brick wall and need a break, or finish a tough advertising campaign, I spend some time online. If I couldn't do that, I'd just walk away from my desk, find a quiet spot, and read something on the kindle app on my phone, or play Candy Crush or something.

 

[LesBaker]

Yeah. Employers are also legally permitted to monitor web traffic on their network, so you'd think all they'd have to do is (a) say they're doing it, and (b) make an example of someone who's been discovered to have been slacking off by surfing the web. Of course all of that is made moot by having a cell phone in a 4G area.

You'd think that one message sent would be enough but she regularly has to write up employees for violating the policy and has terminated a few people for it as well. People aren't that bright as you know they think it won't happen to them. They also have a cell phones off policy because that's hard to keep under conrtol unless they are just off.

Also, and this is AMAZING. Personal calls are to be limited to emergency stuff, yet she has had to write people up for massive amounts of time spent on the clock on personal calls. They can easily check phone records and they spot check them often. Yet knuckleheads break the rules and get written up and once in awhile even get terminated. She's had the people who follow up and check come to her with literally over 100 personal calls in a week......dumb.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yeah. Employers are also legally permitted to monitor web traffic on their network, so you'd think all they'd have to do is (a) say they're doing it, and (b) make an example of someone who's been discovered to have been slacking off by surfing the web. Of course all of that is made moot by having a cell phone in a 4G area.

Our Local Medical Center filters all of the internet traffic on their system and have fired people for abusing it. If anyone has porn on they are canned.....well at least the ones that aren't administrators anyway.

But people can get around it by using their smart phones. My wife is an RN and she says many of the younger nurses spend most of the day posting on Facebook. Even when caught they were only warned. It is pathetic.

 

[Zombie Slayer]

Smoke breaks and useless meetings also hurt too. Anyone who has worked for the government knows what I'm talking about lol. But we are in the day and age where people would rather do as much as they can to only do the bare minimum at work. Especially the younger crowd. People expect to get promotions and raises simply because they show up for work on time. Between the internet, smoke breaks, useless meetings and the fact that people want to slack at work there isn't a company anywhere that isn't being hurt. People are only getting lazier. You can't go to any workplace without seeing someone on their phone anymore.

 

[cracengl]

After years of telling employees to 'Get off the freaking phone!' and coming on sites like this one and reading that guys are watching movies at work on YouTube or like some I knew were playing on-line role play games while at work, I believe that employers are losing billions since the creation of the Worl Wide Web.

But then I think that the flow of information and easy access to goods brought about since the invention of the internet, has allowed employers to cut staff and streamline their businesses, thus making them billions!

So I call it a wash.

That's sort of what I deal with at work. Do I goof off most of the day? Yeah, but I've also taken 3 or 4 roles or important tasks that belonged to other people and streamlined them to be nearly automated. I work smarter rather than harder. Not to mention I've asked for more duties on numerous occasions and each time it is met with something to keep me busy a month or so and then back to the same old same old. The way technology is these days, I get paid less for what I do and more for what I know in the event something quits working properly.

 

[jrry32]

Don't blame me. I don't play fantasy football.

 

[blue4]

Smoke breaks and useless meetings also hurt too. Anyone who has worked for the government knows what I'm talking about lol. But we are in the day and age where people would rather do as much as they can to only do the bare minimum at work. Especially the younger crowd. People expect to get promotions and raises simply because they show up for work on time. Between the internet, smoke breaks, useless meetings and the fact that people want to slack at work there isn't a company anywhere that isn't being hurt. People are only getting lazier. You can't go to any workplace without seeing someone on their phone anymore.

Ive worked around older people most of my life, until now when I'm becoming one of the older people. They were just as lazy then.

 

[den-the-coach]

Well, being a Director of a Department and in a Fantasy Football League since 1996 I understand both sides, however, FF pales in comparison to just the time that is wasted in general on everyone's phone today. The one thing I will never understand is when individuals have conversations while utilizing the facility. Is it really that important to tell your woman that you love her while going number 2?

My apologies to the youth of today, but if someone can rationalize to me how anyone can have any type of conversation while in the bathroom stall (on the phone) I am whiling to listen.

 

[PhxRam]

By my estimations, worthless studies cost corporations 2.6 billion annually.

 

[bluecoconuts]

I work and have worked with older people, and many of them (especially in the government) were lazier than younger guys. Mostly because they were complacent. Granted there were young guys who didn't do anything, and they were removed for it, but the older guys would just smoke more and other things like that. It's not a generational thing, it's just a human thing. Everyone will find something else to do if they want. When it becomes a huge issue then they should be punished though For example at my work as a rifle instructor, we had a a female safety officer who would sit inside on her phone all day, sometimes even locking the door. Refusing to come out, even though there was a full firing line and one guy running around trying to instruct and keep people safe, etc. She was fired pretty quick. It's one thing to check every so often (I know I do, especially when it's slow or there is a game on), it's another to ignore your duty.

I can see restricting certain websites, but telling adults to turn their phone off is ridiculous. I had a professor who used to say he stopped telling students to put away phones because he knew that during staff meetings all the professors would be on their phones the entire time. He wasn't going to enforce a rule that faculty members didn't obey. I'm willing to bet the upper management doesn't follow the phone off rules in that office either. When it gets to that point you need to get new employees or new rules.

 

[den-the-coach]

I

I can see restricting certain websites, but telling adults to turn their phone off is ridiculous. I had a professor who used to say he stopped telling students to put away phones because he knew that during staff meetings all the professors would be on their phones the entire time. He wasn't going to enforce a rule that faculty members didn't obey. I'm willing to bet the upper management doesn't follow the phone off rules in that office either. When it gets to that point you need to get new employees or new rules.

So true do as I say not as I do and most organizations do block certain sites and it's no different from yesteryear utilizing an office phone they should do a study of how much money companies are saving now as opposed to then on long distance charges.

In the end it is excepted as long as you so astutely posted as long as it does not hinder your ability to perform your assigned tasks. However, I still will never understand the phone conversations that take place in a bathroom stall that is a generational thing although maybe some people did do it at home on their cordless phones back in the day.

 

[bluecoconuts]

So true do as I say not as I do and most organizations do block certain sites and it's no different from yesteryear utilizing an office phone they should do a study of how much money companies are saving now as opposed to then on long distance charges.

In the end it is excepted as long as you so astutely posted as long as it does not hinder your ability to perform your assigned tasks. However, I still will never understand the phone conversations that take place in a bathroom stall that is a generational thing although maybe some people did do it at home on their cordless phones back in the day.

Yeah I don't get the talking in the bathroom either. And I hate blue tooth because more than once I've thought they were talking to me and had them look at me like I had a dick growing out of my forehead when I responded.

 

[PrometheusFaulk]

As someone who’s spent two hours a week just hate-staring at Maurice Jones-Drew’s injury icon, I’d call that conservative.

That's pretty funny. Hate-staring.
Can't employers simply put a web filter on their network though?

Usually for small biz, they'd need some sort of firewall that allows them bandwidth shaping so they can throttle it down. I'd imagine some of those guys look at the capital expense of getting the hardware plus the software upgrades for one and don't envision enough ROI from keeping employees off the Yahoo to justify it.

 

[PowayRamFan]

Don't blame me. I don't play fantasy football.

Me neither. I will just never be able to get over the fact that I would have to draft, and ROOT for, players on teams that I hate to do well....