How March Madness distracts workers: By the numbers

"Cyberloafing" — workers' profit-sapping habit of surfing the web instead of being productive at the office — will be hitting critical levels as March Madness gets into full swing this week. How much time will American workers spend updating tournament brackets, tracking office pools, checking scores, and watching games? Here, a numerical breakdown of just how distracting — and costly — March Madness is to gainfully employed college basketball fans:

86

Percentage of employees who will devote at least part of their workday to updating brackets, checking scores, and following games during this year's men's college basketball tournament, according to a MSN survey

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81

Percentage of employees who devoted at least part of their workday to following the tournament last year

56

Percentage of employees who plan to dedicate at least one hour of their workday to March Madness. "The worst exploitation-pod period" will be Thursday and Friday, says Chris Dufresne at the Los Angeles Times, when most of the first-round "bracket-busting" takes place midday, during office hours.

2.5 million

Workers who will spend at least 90 minutes a day watching the tournament

11

Percentage of workers who admit to spending at least five hours of their workday following March Madness

14

Percentage of college basketball fans who admit to having called in sick during March Madness, according to a Yahoo survey

6

Percentage of employees who take the first two days of the tournament off from work

40

Percentage of employees who try to access March Madness information on their work computers

$175 million

Amount of money employers will pay workers for time they spent distracted by March Madness during the first two days of the tournament alone, using the estimated average wage of $23.29 per hour

One-third to two-fifths

Fraction of employers who block websites pertaining to the NCAA tournament, labor lawyer Lonnie Giamela tells the Los Angeles Times

10.3 million

Hours of streaming video related to the tournament watched by workers last year

50 million

Americans who participate in office pools

31

Percentage of people who enter at least two betting pools

58

Percentage of people who enter at least one betting pool

57

Percentage of employers who condone or encourage March Madness distraction, according to a study by staffing services company OfficeTeam

41

Percentage of employers who think the tournament "had a positive impact on the workplace"

Sources: College Recruiters, LA Times, MSN, MSNBC, My Fox Chicago