Fantasy Football Season Raises Productivity Concerns Among Employers; Workplace Legal Expert Robin Bond Esq. on How to Play Without Compromising Job Responsibilities.

WAYNE, Pa. -- Strategizing draft picks, shuffling the roster, and posting Monday-morning rants and raves are all part of fantasy football. But workplace legal expert Robin Bond Esq. warns that employees who get too wrapped up in scoring points on the "field" might be losing points in the office.

According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 36.8 million people play fantasy football, potentially costing employers $1.1 billion per week in lost work time. The average employee admits to wasting 2.09 hours during an 8-hour workday, and 44.7% of respondents of a 2005 AOL and Salary.com study said that Internet use was their biggest workplace distraction.

"Personal email in moderation and reading the news are fairly common activities that many employers tolerate," Bond notes. "However, the fantasy football craze is entirely different because it involves regular research and community discussion. Considering the millions of employees who play, that can add up to a lot of time-outs over a 17-week NFL season!"

Cutting some slack to allow popular employee interests to be shared in the office has its plusses. Bond recommends an office league as one morale-building way for employers to demonstrate that they care about making the workplace atmosphere enjoyable, while still setting guidelines for how much time and when employees can be organizing their teams.

"Even if the fantasy league is sanctioned by the boss, employees need to know their company's Internet policy and follow it," cautions Bond. "Employers are more sensitive than ever to the types of information and entertainment that employees access on company computers while they're on the clock. Breaking the office policy for fantasy football or any other Internet activity is one penalty that could cost you your job." Bond advises employees to monitor the amount of time they spend on the Internet and to remember what they are being paid to do each day: most likely, not playing fantasy football.

For more workplace advice visit www.robinbond.com.