18% of workers join in bracketology

SOURCE: PRNewswire

CHICAGO, March 17 Buzzer beaters, Cinderellas and upsets are on their way. With March Madness kicking into high gear, office pools will likely be a common sight in the office. Nearly one-in-five workers (18 percent) said they have participated in March Madness pools at work, according to CareerBuilder's (SITE) annual survey conducted among more than 8,000 workers between November 12 and December 1, 2008.

Men vs. Women

Men are more likely to get in on March Madness in the office than women. Twenty-four percent of male workers said they have participated in March Madness pools in the office, compared to 11 percent of females.

By Region

More workers in the Midwest have played March Madness brackets than any other region. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of workers in the Midwest said they have bet on a March Madness pool at work, compared to 18 percent in the Northeast, 16 percent in the South and 15 percent in the West.

March Madness isn't the only reason workers are signing up for office pools. Workers also reported the most unusual office pools they've placed bets on:

* How far the Dow Jones would drop that week.
* Number of emails new manager would send in one day.
* Who in the office would win a burrito eating contest.
* When the gigantic snow pile in the parking lot would melt.
* Co-workers' cholesterol numbers.
* When the building would be condemned.
* How long it would take for someone to break up.
* Who would be the next Pope.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder among 8,038 U.S. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed; non government) ages 18 and over between November 12 and December 1, 2008 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset US Employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 8,038 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.09 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.