With the fantasy football season kicking off, some employers are about to suffer a penalty to their bottom line.
Companies will lose up to $435 million a week paying workers who are distracted by their virtual sports teams, according to an estimate by employment consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Some 17 million Americans play fantasy sports annually, with the average participant earning $80,000 a year. Typical fantasy football players spend an estimated 50 minutes at work each week managing their teams, totaling $32 a week per player based on the average salary.
Companies should resist the urge to clamp down on workers’ access to fantasy sports websites, however, said chief executive John Challenger. The dampened employee morale that would result from such a ban far outweighs the lost productivity, he said.
Competitive pillow-fluffing? Only at “Hotel Olympix”
Local hotel housekeepers are going to the show Sept. 14, when they’ll gather at the Adam’s Mark hotel in downtown Denver for the fourth annual “Hotel Olympix.”
It’s an event to celebrate International Housekeepers Week, where staffers from Denver-area hotels compete in the three-legged vacuum dash, the toilet paper shot put and other housekeeping-themed events.
Brown Palace director of housekeeping Debra Bullock started the event in Denver. It has grown to about 18 teams this year. “They get real competitive about it,” she said. “It’s a good networking afternoon.”
Hangover helper just in time for fall football season at CU
A group claims to have invented the first healthy, all-natural hangover remedy. It’s no surprise that the inventors of “The Cure” hail from the University of Colorado at Boulder, generally recognized as one of the top party schools in the country.
The Cure is a powdered mix that allegedly alleviates hangover symptoms when dissolved in water and taken one hour after the last alcoholic beverage is consumed. The Cure will be offered in more than 800 Colorado liquor stores by Sept. 15.
According to the inventors, the so-called cure alleviates common hangover symptoms such as headache, nausea, dehydration, fatigue and upset stomach.
It’s still leaves and water – but this time, steeped in spin
To many of us, tea is just tea.
But maybe that’s because we haven’t hired a pricey Chicago PR firm. Cramer-Krasselt tells us that Ito En Inc.’s bottled “Teas’ Tea,” coming this month to Denver-area grocery stores, uses “revolutionary” production methods and is brewed in “state-of-the-art” tanks, yielding a beverage with “superb clarity.”
Well, if you can’t believe a big PR firm, who can you believe?
The tea is priced at $1.99 for 16.9-ounce bottles and $4.99 for the 2-liter variety.
Tuna, chicken, tanning or crime? It’s a mascot mash-up
Charlie the Tuna, Chick-Fil-A cows, McGruff the Crime Dog and the Coppertone Girl are in competition for a coveted seat in Advertising Week’s Walk of Fame.
Consumers are invited to vote for their favorite advertising icon and slogan at .
The winner will be inducted into the Walk of Fame on Sept. 26.
Previous winners include Mr. Peanut, Juan Valdez and the Geico gecko.
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
