Bob Sirott`s One More Thing about March Madness - KMSP-TV

One more thing, about March Madness. I'm proud to say I never participate in those NCAA pools. Partly because I always lose and partly because all that bracketing is too complicated--especially when you're trying to figure out your income taxes this time of year.

It's estimated that 3 million employees spend one to three hours watching games and checking scores instead of working. According to one survey, 16 percent of workers expect to spend five hours or more following the tournament.

Every spring we get the stories about college basketball causing millions of dollars in lost productivity at the office. That's ridiculous, and always seemed a little far-fetched to me, and now most of the experts agree, saying March Madness can actually create team-spirit and bonding at work.

One poll of more than a thousand managers found one in five people felt activities tied to the playoffs boost morale, compared to only 4 percent who viewed them negatively.

The head of one large employee placement service told Forbes Magazine companies should encourage the betting breaks because people who spend time on non-work tasks will most likely finish their assignments by staying late.

I'm going home now. The rest of the employees at the station might be here a while.