Is fantasy football ruining worker productivity?

Football season is in full swing which means that productivity may soon drop in your office — the main culprit being fantasy football.

The game that allows average joes the opportunity to manage their own team of NFL superstars and compete against friends is played by a lot people — at least 32 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

So, there’s a good chance at least some of your employees are managing their rosters on company time.

According to a very rough and non-scientific study by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 22.3 million American workers spend an hour per week setting their lineups, which can cost billions in lost productivity.

Should you be worried?

‘Go ahead, play your game’

Though the numbers may be alarming, HR professionals in a 2010 study said that fantasy football during company time doesn’t seriously affect worker output.

Some companies actually set up their own leagues — and claim it boosts productivity and morale!

While a company-sponsored fantasy football league might be pushing it, it wouldn’t hurt to start monitoring who is keeping their internet tabs open to their ESPN or Yahoo! fantasy accounts during work.

If it starts to seriously affect output, it may be worth looking into blocking certain websites or instituting a strict no-fantasy policy. For the most part, though, it seems like this is just a minor distraction — no worse than Facebook or Twitter.