Your boss wants you to fill out a NCAA bracket (even if he doesn't know it)

The national onset of round-ball fever started Sunday, when the NCAA men's basketball tournament brackets were announced, sparking workplace betting pools and the annual debate about the drain on productivity.

In the upcoming days, millions of basketball fans will visit sports Web sites to research the teams in the championship tournament, fill out brackets in the betting pools and watch live streaming broadcasts of games during work hours.

The NCAA estimates that more than 35 million Americans participate in office pools and, according to Nielsen Media Research, 92 percent of fans who watched games online do it at work.

But March Madness may not be as "mad" as in years past, according to business experts who have found the majority of employers now view betting pools as morale boosters.

"Even though workers wasting work time on March Madness could cost the nation's employers as much as $1.8 billion during the first week of the tournament alone, it's only a blip on the total productivity radar," says John Challenger, head of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

His global consulting firm makes an annual prediction on the tournament's effect on workplace productivity.

"In this economy, when many employees are under stress over fear of losing their jobs, this annual little distraction outweighs any potential negatives," Challenger said.

Challenger and other consultants have been preaching this message for several years, and it may be sinking in. A recent survey of 1,000 office managers by the staffing firm OfficeTeam found 41 percent believed the college basketball playoffs have a positive effect on employee morale, 56 percent said March Madness did not have a negative effect on productivity and 22 percent said workers' productivity increased.

"The workplace has changed, and with downsizing and employees coming and going more frequently, there are fewer opportunities for bonding," Challenger says. "Getting workers engaged is worth all the money lost during March Madness."

Tampa, Fla. restaurateur Nick Vojnovic, president of Beef O'Brady's restaurants, says he joins in the March Madness pool organized by the 35 employees at corporate headquarters.

"My rule is just keep the stakes small, no more than a token $5 or $10, and I sometimes throw in a gift certificate," he says. "We want our people to get involved because March is one of our biggest months with St. Paddy's Day and basketball."

"It's all about having fun, and it builds morale," he says. Employees at the 250 Beef O'Brady's restaurants nationwide are encouraged to root for the home teams. He says that in places where basketball is a way of life, it would be impossible not to have a March Madness pool.

Hickory's Beef O'Brady's employees aren't betting money on the tournament, but they're posting brackets and engaging in a little workplace wagering for bragging rights, said franchise owner James Patton.

He said the contest makes work more fun. "And a little competition is always good for the spirit," he said.

Two-thirds of employers do not have policies regarding office pools, fantasy sports leagues or gambling in the workplace, according to a 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

"Most employers look the other way, and some ban March Madness pools, which runs the risk of killing morale," Challenger says. He encourages employers to get in the spirit by putting a TV in the break room and letting employees wear team colors to work.

But there can be pitfalls for companies that get officially involved in March Madness pools.
Employment lawyer Robert Riegel of the Tampa law firm Fowler White Boggs says technically it's illegal, as is any form of gambling.

"I advise employer-clients to use common sense," he says. "The employer should not run a betting pool or allow company facilities to be used, such as the Internet, e-mails or office bulletin boards. And the employer needs to make sure that the workers are not structuring the brackets or setting up the pool on company time."

Riegel says that if a worker puts one together during lunch and it's only $1 or $5, and co-workers recruit others (but not on company time), then it's not a big deal. But if there's a huge pool running involving $100 or $1,000 bets, then there is reason for concern.

In North Carolina, it is a misdemeanor to bet on a game of chance. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 60 days imprisonment.