By Nick Holt

A recent Newsweek article touched on the impact “March Madness” can have on a company’s profitability.  As an ardent college basketball fan (and of course someone who takes his work seriously),  I wanted to share the finding and some ways you can make the office a little more fun around this time of year.

Imagine- you’re performing your daily ritual of watching SportsCenter in the morning; you hear the anchors discussing the March Madness Countdown…suddenly you  begin to envision an inbox full of “I’m out sick” messages.  Don’t panic!  This is normal.  During March Madness, a dramatic increase of influenza hits those most vulnerable to the illness; the gainfully employed.  Amid all the March Madness distractions, however, taking advantage of these few weeks can be a great opportunity to build morale and camaraderie within your organization, and to keep attendance close to 100%.

Turn on ESPN in the break room!

New technology has given basketball fans instant access to streaming videos of live March Madness games (which can keep them glued to their desk computers for the wrong reasons). Putting a TV in the break room gives your employees the freedom to watch the games in segments, reducing the temptation to watch the whole game on their computers.

Free company-wide office bracket-pool

March Madness brackets are a great tool to build competitive spirit within the organization. Hang a large, updated bracket on a high-traffic wall for all competitors to view. Reward the top five with free lunches or framed awards.

Favorite Team Apparel Day

Let your employees wear the apparel of their favorite colleges for a day. Just make sure they don’t have any important meetings scheduled—don’t want to see any fights erupt with potential new clients!