--- title: "Should You Make Fantasy Football a Workplace Reality?" id: "18980" type: "post" slug: "should-you-make-fantasy-football-a-workplace-reality" published_at: "2013-08-13T20:23:34+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T20:55:13+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/08/13/should-you-make-fantasy-football-a-workplace-reality/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/08/13/should-you-make-fantasy-football-a-workplace-reality.md" excerpt: "Chances are good that many of your employees will participate in one, or seven, fantasy football leagues this fall. While employers worry about lost productivity, some HR experts believe an employer-sponsored league could benefit employee morale." taxonomy_category: - "Career Development" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Employee Morale" - "team communication" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Should You Make Fantasy Football a Workplace Reality? The first weekend of NFL preseason games is in the books, which means the start of football season is less than a month away. It also means that over the next several weeks, [roughly 33 million wannabe general managers (opens in a new tab)](http://www.fsta.org/about_fsta) will be studying the stats and trends involving quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs as they prepare for their fantasy football league draft, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA). Understandably, many employers dread this time of year. According to a “very rough, nonscientific, nonverifiable” study by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.—the same group that reported on [the impact of March Madness](http://associationsnow.com/2013/03/beware-the-madness-of-march-brackets-bust-worker-productivity/) on the workplace—fantasy football could cost U.S. employers roughly $6.5 billion in wages paid to unproductive workers over the course of a standard 15-week season. But employers shouldn’t worry that work will come to a standstill. “It is important to realize that even if this figure was verifiable and accurate, it would not even register as a blip on the economic radar,” John A. Challenger, the firm’s CEO, [said in a blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://challengeratwork.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/2012-fantasy-football-report/#more-979) . Further, “employers will not see any impact on their bottom line and, for the most part, business will proceed as usual.” Accurate or not, that estimate—on top of [FSTA data (opens in a new tab)](http://www.fsta.org/blog/fsta-press-release) that shows fantasy football players can spend, on average, nine hours per week setting their rosters—might be enough to tempt employers to pull the plug on the whole operation. However, some human resources experts believe it could be a good thing for an employer to allow access to fantasy sports sites or even sponsor its own fantasy football league (of the non-betting variety). In [a recent article (opens in a new tab)](http://www.hrbenefitsalert.com/reasons-your-company-can-embrace-fantasy-football/) , *HR Benefits Alert* said the game could boost employee morale, increase interdepartmental communication, and improve customer relations. “Fantasy football gives employees a reason to talk to other staffers they may not ordinarily talk to,” writes Christian Schappel, the website’s managing editor. “A sales rep may be able to talk to the CEO because their teams are playing each other, or an accountant may approach the head of marketing with a trade offer. It’s a catalyst for a level of communication some employees wouldn’t ordinarily have with each other.” Despite his firm’s lost-productivity estimate, Challenger said employers that encourage participation in fantasy football leagues could actually see benefits. “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,” he said. How does your association approach fantasy football leagues in the workplace? And does the idea of sponsoring an office-wide league seem smart or make you cringe? Share your thoughts in the comments. (iStockphoto/Thinkstock) [Rob Stott](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/) Rob Stott is a contributing editor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/rob-stott/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Employee Morale](https://associationsnow.com/tag/employee-morale/) [#team communication](https://associationsnow.com/tag/team-communication/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [TemplateMembers onlyStaff Phone A Thon ScriptApril 18, 2018](https://associationsnow.com/2018/04/18/staff-phone-a-thon-script/) - [Video🚀 The Agile Association Professional: How to Pivot Your Career Path When the Strategic Plan ShiftsJuly 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/28/the-agile-association-professional-how-to-pivot-your-career-path-when-the-strategic-plan-shifts/) - [TemplateMembers onlyAAO Website Principles DocumentAugust 31, 2006](https://associationsnow.com/2006/08/31/aao-website-principles-document/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2013%2F08%2F13%2Fshould-you-make-fantasy-football-a-workplace-reality%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !