Colleen Pfaller Discusses Workplace Productivity During March Madness

As the excitement of March Madness unfolds, a study conducted by Challenger, Gray and Christmas in 2023, highlights a potential $17.3 billion dip in workplace productivity due to the NCAA Basketball Tournaments.

However, Colleen Pfaller, Principal, HR Consulting, does not believe now is the time to address the distractions that come with March Madness. Instead, she advises employers to rely on their current policies in place and focus on results rather than the number of hours worked. "Look to your handbook, look to your policies and procedures, look to your past practices in how you’ve handled these things in and outside of March Madness," states Colleen. "Don’t make this a target time to start addressing those things."

Colleen encourages employers to embrace the benefits the tournaments bring, fostering camaraderie, uniting teammates for a fun and friendly competition, and an overall morale boost.

In a time when employee engagement is linked to productivity, what a great way to bring people together who have different interests. Anybody can be involved, whether you’re remote or in person, and you don’t even really need to know much about basketball. It’s just something fun that everyone can do together.”
 
— Colleen Pfaller, Principal, HR Consulting, OneDigital Ohio

To hear more from Colleen on how to manage productivity distractions, click here.

For additional resources on increasing engagement, check out Beyond the 9 to 5: Prioritizing the Whole Employee.