The Super Bowl always has a big winner. But there’s also a big loser – American business.
Companies across the United States lost more than $780 million last week, based on the time their workers wasted gabbing about the Super Bowl.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a global outplacement consultant, estimated the number of 10-minute periods employees spent chewing the fat about their plans for Super Sunday, discussing strategy or gambling on the game.
An estimated 90 million Americans watched the Super Bowl and 63 percent of those are employed.
With an average weekly income of $659, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $2.75 is wasted for every 10 minutes one employee spends on the Super Bowl.
But on the bright side, “common interest in one of the teams might bring together two employees who might never have interacted otherwise,” CEO John Challenger said.
Still, the losses over the last week don’t include the wasted time employees will spend as Monday-morning quarterbacks.
“Employers should also count on losing another $156 million in unproductive wages – as workers discuss the game, the commercials and the half-time show,” Challenger added.