Watching the impeachment hearings at work? Your company pays

Millions of Americans are watching the impeachment hearings—and not doing their work.

That’s costing businesses $2.1 billion per hour, according to an estimate by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry began yesterday morning and people are following the developments—whether minute-by-minute or sporadic recaps—in any number of ways, including smartphones, social media, podcasts, and TV. And all that time dedicated to what’s happening on the Hill means it’s not being spent on the jobs they’re paid to do.

To a degree, the loss of productivity is to be expected, as an historic event unfolds in Washington, D.C. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported a similar dip during Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony at now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.

One key difference: The impeachment inquiry will last much longer. Then again, people likely will lose interest as it goes on.

To calculate the $2.1 billion, Challenger, Gray & Christmas used these figures:

“There’s likely not much employers can do to stymie workers’ interest in these hearings. Workers can certainly bond over watching or monitoring historic proceedings like these,” the firm’s VP Andrew Challenger said in an emailed statement. “That said, the political division currently being experienced in the country may make watching these hearings with colleagues a charged experience.”

Source: Fastcompany.com

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