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NEW YORK –As reported by the New York Business Review: “New York state may have Mega Millions, but advertising firm Smith and Jones has Baby Lotto.
”`People who are closest to the birthweight and date without going over, if they guess the sex right, wins the pot,’ said Sara Tack, an executive with the West Sand Lake-based firm.
”The game begins each time a Smith and Jones employee announces a pregnancy. And it has earned top stature.
”…Similar office pool games are gaining popularity, but critics say they're costing companies $63 billion a year in lost productivity.
”…Corporate office pools have even given rise to a symbiotic cottage industry. For example, OfficePools.com and Sandbox.com host online pools. And companies like Websense manufacture software employers can use to block access to them.
”But John Challenger, CEO of the international outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., said that's simply the wrong approach. Finding balance within these two extremes can actually boost employee morality and lead to corporate productivity.
”…Still, many employers are reluctant to permit them because they are often unsure of their legality.
”…More than 60 percent of respondents to a 1999 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management said they didn't have an office pool policy. Roughly 11 percent of respondents said they had unwritten or commonly understood gambling policies.
”This is exactly how companies become vulnerable to a myriad of labor problems, said Gregory Robertson, a labor attorney with Hunton & Williams, a Richmond,Va.-based law firm…”
”`People who are closest to the birthweight and date without going over, if they guess the sex right, wins the pot,’ said Sara Tack, an executive with the West Sand Lake-based firm.
”The game begins each time a Smith and Jones employee announces a pregnancy. And it has earned top stature.
”…Similar office pool games are gaining popularity, but critics say they're costing companies $63 billion a year in lost productivity.
”…Corporate office pools have even given rise to a symbiotic cottage industry. For example, OfficePools.com and Sandbox.com host online pools. And companies like Websense manufacture software employers can use to block access to them.
”But John Challenger, CEO of the international outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., said that's simply the wrong approach. Finding balance within these two extremes can actually boost employee morality and lead to corporate productivity.
”…Still, many employers are reluctant to permit them because they are often unsure of their legality.
”…More than 60 percent of respondents to a 1999 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management said they didn't have an office pool policy. Roughly 11 percent of respondents said they had unwritten or commonly understood gambling policies.
”This is exactly how companies become vulnerable to a myriad of labor problems, said Gregory Robertson, a labor attorney with Hunton & Williams, a Richmond,Va.-based law firm…”
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