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Survey: Offices Lose Productivity During NCAA Tournament

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Let the madness begin. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament tipped off Thursday morning with a flurry of second round games.

Many fans will be watching at work to see if their office pool bracket predictions will pull through. Some also take the option, if they have it, to work from home while they watch all the basketball. Others wise up and just take time off from the office, knowing they won't be productive if they are there.

An estimated 70 million people filled out brackets this year. A survey from Retail-Me-Not found about 30 percent of people will find a way to watch the games at work, either online or by taking a long lunch. And 15 percent said they'd be willing to call in sick to catch an important game.

Because of that, businesses are expected to lose around $1.5 billion in productivity during the NCAA Tournament.

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