SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in Smartbrief on Workforce — tracks feedback from leading managers and HR practitioners. We run the poll question each Thursday in our e-newsletter.
Last week, we asked: Do you allow gambling pools (such as the ones for March Madness) in your workplace?
- Yes, but we don’t encourage or discourage them, 52%
- No, but we look the other way if employees are doing it, 26%
- No, and we are strict about it, 12%
- Yes — we encourage them, 10%
It’s encouraging to see that employers aren’t going overboard with regulating informal gambling pools at work. For me, it was a nice change of pace for a couple of weeks and the amounts we dealt with were very low ($20 or less). While I don’t necessarily buy the camaraderie benefit, I do think that employers should take a hands-off approach to all but the most extreme circumstances.
Lance Haun is community director for ERE.net, the main guy over at Rehaul.com and a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board.
