Everyone has been really pleased with this arrangement so far.” Fantasy football and your workplace “Not only does leveling out the leagues make fantasy football seem more approachable to people who’ve never played, but it also provides more experienced players with a greater challenge. “The leagues were also organized in a way that grouped people of similar skill levels, with rookies all in one league and veteran fantasy football players in another,” Scherry said. The class, which covered the rules and the basics of the platform, was one of two initiatives to make fantasy football more inclusive at G&A. G&A Partners has organized leagues in the past, and this year the company is expanding its efforts to include an employee-led Fantasy Football 101 class. “We’re a competitive bunch, and fantasy sports offers a natural way to foster that sense of competition while building relationships across the company.” Those opportunities for conversation are why Scherry is such a fan of using fantasy football as a tool to increase employee engagement, and something she actively encourages at G&A.
Fantasy football is just the next evolution of those same water cooler conversations.” How G&A is embracing fantasy football “Sports, and football in particular, have long been the subject of ‘water cooler’ conversation. “Sports is a very easy topic for people to talk about it establishes a commonality that puts people who might not otherwise interact on the same playing field, so to speak,” Scherry said. But in her opinion, the benefits fantasy football offers far outweigh that risk. The larger potential productivity drain instead lies in the time employees might spend discussing fantasy football (or even football in general) at work. “Fantasy football carries a perception of being disruptive, but that’s really more of a myth,” says Bonnie Scherry, director of Corporate HR for G&A Partners.Īn avid football fan and fantasy football player herself, Scherry says that the majority of time spent actively managing a fantasy team is more likely to be conducted outside work hours. And while some employers might interpret the fact that a good chunk of their workforce spends upwards of three hours a week managing their teams to mean that fantasy football is a potential productivity drain, in reality, it’s likely not as big a problem as it might initially sound. It should come as no surprise that such a popular hobby has found its way into the workplace. Over the course of the 17-week season, that comes to about 51 hours every year. Players spend an average of three hours per week reviewing statistics, drafting their dream players, building the perfect lineup, conducting trades, interacting with the other members of their leagues, etc. Of the estimated 57 million Americans who play fantasy football, about 37 million are full-time employees.
Fantasy football by the numbersĪ billion-dollar industry in and of itself, fantasy football has become one of the country’s fastest-growing pastimes. the start of football season also means the start of fantasy football.
With the professional football season now officially underway, the rush of cheering on their favorite team isn’t the only thing fans are looking forward to.