With March Madness finally cooling off, there’s a good chance you either took part in an office pool or followed the games at work. And there’s still baseball, football and soccer to be played!  According to a recent Spherion workplace snapshot survey, 5 of every 10 workers in the U.S. have participated in an office pool and one in four have followed sports on the computer at work.

It seems many of us can’t pull ourselves away from sports mania during work hours. If you qualify, consider this advice to avoid fouling out of the career game:

• Know your company policy.
  The debate over office pools has yet to be won. Some companies see the diversion as a drain on worker productivity—others as a way for workers to foster team spirit and boost morale. Before you decide to start an office pool, find out if your company has a policy regarding the practice. Our survey found that 4 in 10 workers either didn’t know or weren’t sure if their employer had a policy regarding office pools. Another 5 in 10 said their employer doesn’t have a policy. In either case, it would still be prudent to let your boss know about the proposed pool, or make it a non-monetary pool. 
• Don’t look now. 
  If you do watch or stream sports events during work hours, you should assume that your employer may be watching you. Why risk your good reputation, or even your career, over something you can catch up on after work? Few employers will tolerate excessive abuse of company time—and streaming sports events on the clock certainly qualifies. Your best bet, in this case, is the “safe” one.