For sports fans and latent gamblers, March Madness is in full force. Talk of brackets and pools can be heard everywhere you go. And for anyone not in the basketball know, you can’t escape the madness even if you want to. Not even at work. Nearly one-in-five workers (18 percent) said they have participated in March Madness pools at work, according to CareerBuilder’s annual survey conducted among more than 8,000 workers between November 12 and December 1, 2008.
Men are more likely to get in on March Madness in the office than women. Twenty-four percent of male workers said they have participated in March Madness pools in the office, compared to 11 percent of females.
More workers in the Midwest have played March Madness brackets than any other region. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of workers in the Midwest said they have bet on a March Madness pool at work, compared to 18 percent in the Northeast, 16 percent in the South and 15 percent in the West.
March Madness isn’t the only reason workers are signing up for office pools. Workers also reported the most unusual office pools they’ve placed bets on:
- How far the Dow Jones would drop that week.
- Number of emails new manager would send in one day.
- Who in the office would win a burrito eating contest.
- When the gigantic snow pile in the parking lot would melt.
- Co-workers’ cholesterol numbers.
- When the building would be condemned.
- How long it would take for someone to break up.
- Who would be the next Pope.
I think there will be a lot of young males calling in sick today (Friday). March Madness is also a great way to build an office culture by having an office bracket pool.