No Sleep? No Sobriety? No Problem!

By Shannon in News on Jan 28, 2007 7:28PM

We can't seem to get the Bears off our brains. One would think the only thing Chicago does, especially on the weekends, is sit around and wait for our teams to win championships ... and we pay for it on Monday, when work rears its ugly head. That explains why one west suburban employer is throwing in the towel and giving his staff the day off after Super Bowl Sunday.

Research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas recently totaled up the blow of sports obsession on worker productivity. The price tag? Approximately $800 million nationwide in the week leading up to the Big Game. In the spirit of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," Geneva business owner Tim Coleman is simply shutting down the office for the day after. Whether the Bears win or lose, not a whole lot of fans will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed come Feb. 5. Coleman acknowledged that he would probably lose around $12,000 for giving his employees the impromptu paid holiday, but he believes it's a good move. According to him, it's a way of showing them he cares, which he hopes will trickle down to improved client service.

Since Coleman only employs 13 people, the consequences of his action are relatively small; a larger company would crash and burn from such a loss. It's hard to estimate business done versus company solidarity, not to mention how much productivity one would lose due to hungover employees calling in sick anyway. We see it as a very sticky situation, but hey, if our small office feels the urge, we would be willing to suck it up and sleep in next Monday. Somehow.

Image via Crossroads Initiative.