The Big Losers at the Olympics? Business Productivity

Courtesy of A-e-basakThey only come around once every four years, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the Olympic Games are causing a large number of workers to tune out of their everyday boring office lives and to tune in to the exciting events being held in London this year. Some workplaces, including the City of Los Angeles, have even had to send out requests to their employees, begging them not to continue watching the games on their computers for fear that the high volume of Internet traffic would cause their systems to suffer slowdowns or even worse, crash completely.

So why are so many people tuning into the Olympic Games at work this time around? Here are just a few of the reasons.

Live Streaming

NBC is streaming almost all of the Olympic game events live on the Internet, so many people are taking advantage of these feeds. Even if employees aren't allowed to watch events on their computers, many are turning to their smartphones so that they can watch the action unfold as it actually happens.

Time Difference

Part of the reason why so many people are tuning into the Olympic Games at work this year is because of the time difference between the United States and London, which has resulted in most of the Olympic athletic events being held during what are traditionally America's working hours. While a person could be patient and watch the game after work during prime time, many are choosing to watch them live instead.

Summer Work Doldrums

It doesn’t help that the summer months are typically slow at many work places anyway, with large numbers of employees on vacation, meaning that those who are left in the workplace are unable to finish projects because key members of their teams are away. Many of these employees end up watching the Olympics to keep themselves entertained.

Great American Story Lines

There are a number of great American story lines unfolding at the Olympics this year. Many people are very interested to see if Michael Phelps, who dominated men's swimming during the Beijing Olympics, would still be untouchable or if he would be yielding his crown to Ryan Lochte or any number of other up-and-coming swimmers. Americans were also very interested in seeing how one of the best United States women's gymnastics teams ever would fare in London.

Twitter and Other Social Media Sites

Some companies have strict policies about live streaming because it can be too much for their computer network systems to handle. Employees who work at such companies are often still able to receive timely updates if they can log onto Twitter or Facebook while at work and follow Olympics event results as they happen through various tweets or status updates.

Although the loss of productivity can be troubling for companies, some people believe that employers may want to consider turning a blind eye to their employees' obsession with the Olympic Games, since it only lasts for two weeks and can be a source of great American pride.

Jason Church blogs about sporting events for www.triviaquestions.net/sports/. If you are interested in learning more trivia about the London Olympics, visit the link.

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

Interesting take on the change in watching the Olympics, especially with the continued rise of Twitter and other social media. I think there's a good and a bad with the internet's influence on the Olympics. The bad is now knowing everything before it happens. It's definitely taken away from much of the suspense of the bigger events. However, I appreciate the number of stories that are now able to be told. For years, the smaller stories may have been left behind due to the limitations of coverage, but now with blogging and the 24/7 coverage and expansion of cable channels, there seems like no competitions missed and stories not told. Thanks for the contribution and hope to read some more of your unique perspectives.

[James Dugan]

It is even more awkward to get caught watching male gymnastics at the work place and trying to explain why. The same goes for male volleyball. The only acceptable Olympic watching at work places is female athletics, which is quite a different story than normal. I am only kidding, but women sports seem much more competitive and interesting especially beach volleyball. I have never stopped to watch anyone on the beach play volleyball, but I have spent close to 10 hours in the last week intrigued by it.I like your piece. I remember when the World Cup was in Germany a few years back. I use to end working around 10 in the morning and start watching soccer for the rest of the day. I loved that month of work and yes I no longer work there.
Good post and fun lunch.