As the countdown to Super Bowl Sunday draws near, here is a cautionary tale for fans devoted to their sport and its place in the world of work.
In the last quarter of 2009, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) reported that four employees of Fidelity Investments had been fired for their involvement in a fantasy football league. The company said that they had intercepted workplace instant messaging involving football conversations. Fidelity’s position was that they had made their policy about “no gambling on the job” clear to their workforce, and that fantasy sports activities were not permitted on company time.
The league members defended their participation by responding that Fidelity employees did not take this policy seriously and that their $20 personal investments in their indulgence hardly constituted hardcore betting. In fact, Fidelity’s reference to fantasy sports as “gambling” caught the attention of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which issued its own press release as a result of the firing, noting that it was disappointed by Fidelity’s actions and their promotion of the perception that fantasy sports are linked to gambling. The Association also said in their release that Congress recognizes the distinction between fantasy sports and criminal sports gambling, and has written exclusionary language around fantasy sports play.
Still, for the four terminated Fidelity players, their employer’s playbook held firm. A spokesperson for Fidelity, Vin Loporchio, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Participation in any form of gambling through the use of Fidelity time or equipment or any other company resource is prohibited. In addition to being illegal in a lot of places, it can also be disruptive. We want our employees to be focused on our customers and clients.”
In a 2008 report, the global outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. estimated that employers typically lose $615 million per week in lost productivity (more than $10 billion total by season end) due to fantasy football, despite excellent gains made in workplace morale and camaraderie. Challenger’s estimate was based on the average annual earnings of fantasy football participants and the amount of time they spent online, managing their teams during the workday.
In a release accompanying the 2008 study, CEO John Challenger said, “Obviously, there are daily distractions in the workplace that are universal, whether it’s a trip to the washroom or sharing celebrity gossip around the water cooler. Fantasy football is just one more of these distractions. Most employers understand that not every minute of the day is dedicated to work.” He added, “Managers should only crack down on those whose work is clearly suffering from the added distraction. An across-the-board ban on all fantasy football or sports websites could backfire in the form of reduced morale and loyalty. The result could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 to 20 minutes of team management each day.”
I’m no football fanatic, but I have to agree with Mr. Challenger. According to news reports, the fired Fidelity employees had good work records prior to their firing. It seems to me that real life football players commit much greater transgressions both on and off the field with far less penalty. In an economy where workplace morale is eroding daily, employers might do better to call a time-out, rather than throw the yellow flag.
Nancy Schuman is a vice president at Lloyd Staffing, headquartered in Melville, and is the author of eight how-to books on career guidance and job-search techniques. Lloyd Staffing offers temporary, contract and full-time employment services on a regional and national basis. Send your career-related questions to [email protected].