In the month of March, it can be near impossible to escape the Madness! College alums rep their team’s jerseys, casual sports fans suddenly become glued to the T.V., and when it seems like everyone from your seven-year-old to your Grandma has a bracket going, the mania reaches its peak. But what do you do when you have to leave your T.V. and Twitter feeds behind and head to work? Embracing March Madness in the workspace can be tricky. It has the potential to derail productivity, but when done right, this sports season can bring out the best in your employees and office space. Use these tips for a smooth trip through the madness!
Bonding Through B-Ball
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Sports bring people together. Finding out you share a favorite team with the guy from accounting can immediately spark an unexpected camaraderie! Watching sporting events is the perfect low-stakes way to bring people in your office together. Whether it is through a friendly bracket competition or sharing details over last night’s game, March Madness is a great way to get to know more people in your space. The more colleagues get to know each other, the better the chance they have of working well together. It’s a win-win!
Don’t Fight It, Embrace It
The key to celebrating March Madness is making sure no one goes too mad… literally. A survey shows that the average worker will spend six hours watching March Madness at work. By setting up designated viewing times, no one will feel like they have to sneak off to see the best highlights. Keep the games on a common room T.V. or let people know that they are welcome to gather during lunch to talk basketball and catch up on the latest news. Wasted time? Absolutely not! Social interactions with coworkers are important for a positive and fun work environment. By embracing the madness, you’ll brighten other’s days while also creating some treasured office traditions.
Madness or morale booster?
Subway at AdvantEdge's Sweet Sixteen party
Why not both? Workplace events boost morale and keep employees happy. What better way to spice up March (which has a tendency to drag while we eagerly await warm weather to come) than with some March Madness events! Start off with a friendly bracket challenge. With the promise of a great prize for the winner, even those who barely follow sports will be inclined to participate. For each round (elite eight, final four, etc), you can plan a themed lunch break! Not only will your employees be unable to resist free food, they will also have a chance to get up and socialize too! At AdvantEdge, we keep the momentum going throughout the week with an arcade-style hoops game set up in our lounge. If people are feeling inspired by the real thing, they can try their shot at some virtual baskets. Lastly, you can use March Madness to hold a non-basketball focused event, such as a networking happy hour or a talk on how sports impact your industry.
At AdvantEdge Workspaces, March Madness is a time for celebration and friendly competition. It provides a break in the workday that sends people back to their desks more energized than when they left and promotes camaraderie among staff and clientele. Being a shared workspace, we have the unique ability to bring smaller businesses together through office events like our Sweet Sixteen office lunch party. One of the best parts of our space is coming together as a community. Whether your office is one person or a whole group, there is always something fun being planned for you here. Contact us today to tour our space and make sure that you don’t miss out on the madness next year!
