Challenger, Gray & Christmas is at it again. The Chicago-based consulting firm, famous for its productivity studies (usually around the NCAA Tournament), has just released a study about lost productivity around the Super Bowl. They estimate that American employers will lose about $820 million in productivity from their workers, the biggest losses obviously in Indianapolis and Chicago. $820 Million?! Amazing to think that a mere football game can cause such a loss of productivity, yet it is the biggest sporting event of the year and I know where I will be watching the game and what I will be doing.

One area company is answering the bell for all football fans in the U.S – Monarch Beverage, a local spirits distributor, has announced that their employees will receive the Monday after the Super Bowl off as a paid holiday. WOW – if you work at Monarch, for god sakes make your Sunday night revelry worth it. A gift like this comes but once a lifetime! And, as if to prove that grown ups aren’t the only ones who might be a bit distracted from the big game, a local school has also announced they will be closed “in support” of the Colts on Monday. I grew up in Wisconsin – home of Lambeau Field, Brett Favre and Brats - and this NEVER happened, even when they went to the Super Bowl in ’97 and ’98. So I ask you, is this a good idea? Are companies getting a little out of hand or is this a great way to build company moral and support your home town team?