March. It is nearly over now, so I may as well let you in on a few things.
I think a lot of people don’t like their jobs. We saw this more than ever during the pandemic, especially once they had some time away from the workplace. They firmly decided, no more. Last year was a historic one for American jobs in an epidemic all its own. A record number of workers turned in their final notices all across the land.
In total, 75.3 million workers were hired last year. But hold on. Incredibly, 68.9 million people quit, were laid off or were discharged. That doesn’t leave a whole lot of workers.
But I mentioned March. It runs deeper in March. On top of all the trouble I just mentioned, it seems that those people who are working will do just about anything to find distractions from the work.
March is historically the worst month for productivity. The cause? None other than basketball. March Madness. It runs from March 14 to April 5 this year. Around the same for most years.
According to USA Today, “unproductive workers cost their employers $4 billion in 2019, paid to employees spending company time on betting pool priorities.”
On the other side, the gambling industry is certainly gaining. The American Gaming Association gives the following estimate. More than 120 million fans worldwide will place a bet on the March Madness brackets for the 2022 tournament. Yowza. But the odds are much like winning the lottery. Each of those brackets has a one in 2.4 trillion chance of predicting the correct winners of every game. Trillion is the operative word in that sentence. Bet me.
This next item about March may surprise you. It’s the best month for vasectomies. Oh, it is true. Much like the clipping of the basketball net from the hoop, men all over America get their little shooters clipped too. It all has to do with lying on the couch. During the early tournament days — when all of those games appear on TV, one after the other, the couch is the prime place to be. And what better excuse than to recover from a vasectomy? Sick leave with an ulterior motive. According to Live Science, the number of vasectomies surges by 50 percent during the first week of March Madness.
So there it is. Basketball. Vasectomies. People skirting work and throwing money on bets. All in the month of March.
A brand new meaning for March Madness.
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“Fame you’ll be famous, as famous as can be, with everyone watching you win on TV, Except when they don’t because sometimes they won’t..”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
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“It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web
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“Time is a game played beautifully by children.”
― Heraclitus, Fragments
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