Fun Notes: Super Bowl cutting into productivity

The Super Bowl might be a boost to a struggling economy in Detroit, but it's bad news for employers around the country.

At least that's the opinion of an outplacement consultant firm that estimates American employers will suffer productivity losses of $780 million this week.

The estimate by Challenger, Gray & Christmas is based on 10-minute periods employees will waste talking about the game, arguing with co-workers and filling out office-pool forms.

And its estimate doesn't even take into account more problems on Monday following the game, when employees continue to talk about the game, analyze the commercials and halftime show, or simply fail to show up, suffering from Super Bowl party hangovers.

"As the pregame promotion escalates this week, workers could easily spend 10 minutes each day dissecting all the statistics, organizing betting pools and making party plans. That amounts to $780,000,000 by week's end," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Employers should also count on losing another $156 million in unproductive wages on Monday."

Challenger pointed out the impact of Super Bowl distractions in the workplace don't actually affect the overall economy or the bottom line of the company.

In fact, he said the benefits of a Super Bowl outweigh the negatives.

"Common interest in one of the teams might bring together two employees who might never have interacted otherwise," he said.

The company said the biggest time waster in Seattle will be online surfing. No surprise there. Seattle is the most Internet-literate city in the country, according to a ranking by Central Connecticut State University.

It's dress-up time

"Are you sick of drinking the same beer and listening to a room filled with obnoxious men yelling obscene comments at the TV? Most likely your answer is no."

Turns out they were selling "sexy-referee" costumes for women. (The material is soft and durable, and the get-up comes with sunglasses and a whistle.)

We'd let you know what it looks like, but trying to load the site here at The Seattle Times gets you the dreaded "Access Denied!" red hand.