Are You A Fantasy Football Player?

Do you spend time at work managing your fantasy football team?

If so, you could be one of the millions of people costing employers as much as $1.1 billion weekly in lost productivity during the National Football League season.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas , the Chicago-based employment research firm that tracks corporate office trends, participants spend 10 minutes per day, or almost an hour a week, drafting players, setting rosters and plotting strategy at the office. A conservative estimate of weekly lost productivity ...about $500 million .

So what's a boss to do?

Nothing.

Employers should see fantasy sports as a positive influence in the workplace.The potential damage to morale and loyalty resulting from a ban could be far worse than the loss of productivity caused by 10 minutes of online team management. Companies that not only allow workers to indulge in fantasy football but actually encourage it by organizing a company league are likely to see benefits... and happier employees.