Companies that don't have a clear corporate policy on office pool participation can expect lower productivity during March Madness basketball, according to a recent survey from Spherion Staffing Services, a division of SFN Group Inc. (NYSE: SFN). According to the 2011 Office Pool Survey, companies are not making clear what their policies are.

Only 16 percent of employees surveyed said their company has a policy against office pools; another 37 percent didn't know whether there was a policy or not.  Nearly half of the respondents do not think their employer has a corporate policy regarding participation in office pools.

Forty-six percent of respondents have participated in office pools in the past, according to the survey. Of those who have not participated before, 13 percent cited company policies prohibiting office pools; 23 percent cited work distractions. Forty-eight percent didn't participate simply because they hadn't been asked to.

"Research shows that non-work-related online surfing results in an estimated 40 percent loss of productivity each year for American businesses," said John Heins, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at SFN Group. "It's becoming easier and easier to get online, and this year workers will have unprecedented access to streaming video, which could mean unprecedented productivity hits for businesses."