Why the Olympics might be freezing up office productivity

The flame of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is lit and the games are on, but research shows that the weeks-long event can have an impact on employee productivity, costing employers roughly $1.7 billion. According to a report from marketing insight firm Office Pulse, 56% of working professionals plan to watch this year’s event. Here’s how the games may affect your workplace.

About a quarter (24%) of companies say they will let their employees watch the Olympics as long as it doesn’t interfere with business. Twenty-six percent of business professionals say they plan to monitor the Olympics using their personal cellphone, followed by their company laptop/desktop (23%). Only 7% of workers say they will be watching secretly in the office, millennials being the biggest culprits.