Touchdown or workplace penalty: Does Fantasy Football belong in the workplace?

NFL kickoff is finally here. Say goodbye to pre-season practice games and hello to the new season.

Football fans everywhere are priming up their television sets, laptops, and other electronic devices to watch the season’s gridiron battle tonight. Tonight is the night weeks of hard work and preparation finally shift into gear and move forward – for fantasy football that is.

No doubt, countless Americans have already paid their fantasy football league dues, completed their drafts, and are primed to jump into this season’s most competitive electronic sports phenomenon.

Trust me when I say your avid fantasy football league participants take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears getting their season ready. To a certain extent, it would defy common sense to think that over the next few months they would leave fantasy football safely away in their parked cars in the parking lot. So why shouldn’t fantasy football be allowed in the workplace? It’s pretty harmless, right?

Logically speaking, one would think that fantasy football would harm productivity during the season and would be problematic in the workplace.

That’s true if not managed properly, but maybe it’s time to explore the benefits of incorporating fun activities like fantasy football into the workplace to increase productivity and employee morale.

According to the Fantasy Trade Association, about 32 million Americans spend $467 per person -- $15 billion total -- playing fantasy football. The hopes of paying minimal and possibly winning more drives energy, excitement and participation for a period of three to four months on average.

Trust me when I say one of those 32 million Americans is probably one or more employees within your company. This means you have employees excited, engaged and participating in a competitive team or league modeled environment. Imagine incorporating that type of model into the workplace – what would the results be?

The answer is pretty easy, at least in my mind. If managed properly, fantasy football could have a very positive impact on the workplace. Employees who have never interacted before suddenly have a common bond, common interest and a place to start building work relationships. Increased interaction, relationship building and team-building does increase productivity and creates a more positive work environment. Employees feel like they are a part of something beyond their job title at work, which creates camaraderie.

The key is, it has to be managed properly, which can be challenging. Not everyone loves football, nor do they want to participate in fantasy football. So that same sense of belonging for some employees can bring alienation among those who do not participate. While productivity may increase in some areas, it may decrease in others.

It also can be a huge time waster during the day. Think of the countless hours dedicated to Internet searches, phone calls and “meetings” in the workplace. Hard to say but it is certain that time management and wasted time is an issue.

Last of all, fantasy football for money is essentially gambling, which is illegal in the workplace. This means the “stakes” have to be lowered if introduced in the workplace. Management would be forced to be “creative” with the ultimate prize for the league champion, which easily could be free lunch, gift card, prizes, etc.

While fantasy football may not have a place in the workplace unless it is the right culture and employee base – and managed carefully by management or human resources professionals -- it should help engage and inspire management to create programs and incentives that have the same impact that fantasy football has outside the workplace.

Monica Bitrick is CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, an Idaho Falls human resources consulting company.

Startup Weekend set for Idaho Falls in late October

Sponsored by the UP Global and the Eastern Idaho Entrepreneurial Center, the first Startup Weekend in Idaho Falls is scheduled to be held Oct. 23-25 at Eastern Idaho Technical College.

Held worldwide, Startup Weekends are 54-hour events where enthusiasts from every industry come together to share ideas and skills, form teams, build products and launch startups. Beginning with open mic pitches on the first night, attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over the next two days, teams focus on customer development, validating ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies and building a minimal viable product. On the final evening, teams demo their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts.

Startup Weekends typically cost between $75 and $150 (less for students). A ticket covers seven meals, snack, access to exclusive resources from our sponsors, and of course, all the coffee you can drink. For the Idaho Falls event, early bird tickets will be available until Sept. 23. Student discounts are available. To find out more, visit this link.

Here is a video that explains more about Startup Weekend:

Il Castello closed, Alchemy Bistro moving into space

Chef Tim Leininger of Alchemy Bistro and Catering

In the continuing game of restaurant roulette, Il Castello on A Street has closed and the space is being taken over by Alchemy Bistro, which is vacating its space at 552 North Capital, where That One Place and Pachanga's used to be.

Chef Tim Leininger said he hopes to be open at the new location by Oct. 1, and is looking to hire staff, including a sous chef, servers, hosts, bartenders, dishwashers and a restaurant manager. He said he is not going to do much in the way of remodeling. "It's pretty bistro looking as it is," he said.

Before opening around Thanksgiving last years, Leininger had been running a catering business in the Trackside Mall. A Pennsylvania native, he had worked at restaurants while attending college, but came to Idaho in 1989 to work at the Idaho National Laboratory. After retiring from there in 2006, he went to the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

The Capital Ave location will be open during the transition, but Leininger asks diners call first to be sure of available service, 529-1032.

Idaho Mountain Trading moving into old Youth Ranch store

Davin Napier, on the floor at Idaho Mountain Trading.

After 29 years at the corner of Shoup Avenue and B Street, Idaho Mountain Trading is moving, The good news for downtown is that they are relocating to the old Idaho Youth Ranch store on Shoup, where they will have twice as much room.

Owner Richard Napier, who started the business in 1977 on A Street, hopes to have the business open in the new location by Oct. 1, said his son, Davin, who returned from Boise two years ago to rejoin the team. Remodeling is being done by Ormond Constrcution.

When finished, Mountain Trading will have 12,000 square feet, double what it has had in its current location. "It will allow us to open up the store and give customers a more thorough experience," Napier said. It will also allow them to keep all their inventory on the floor year round, instead of moving bikes to the basement when ski season starts. "We'll be a four-season store," he said.

Mountain Trading is buying the building from Idaho Youth Ranch, which moved out to Woodruff Avenue near WinCo Foods. Kristi Staten, executive director of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp., said they are hugely relieved that such an important business is making such a big investment in downtown.

In anticipation of the move, the merchandise in the store has been marked down as high as 40 to 60 percent. "The less we have to move, the better off we're going to be," Napier said.

Commercial air service between Idaho Falls, Boise set to begin Oct. 1

Idaho Falls Regional Airport announced today that non-stop air service between Idaho Falls and Boise will begin Oct. 1.

Gem Air, a carrier based in Salmon, will begin flying 9-passenger turboprop planes between the two cities, filling a gap in service that has existed since SeaPort Airlines stopped service in 2012. Before SeaPort, Horizon Air provided service to Boise for several years.

“We believe this is a great option for our community,” said Craig Davis, IFRA airport director, in a press release from Mayor Rebecca Casper's office. “There’s been strong demand, especially in the business community, and we’re thrilled that Gem Air was able to step in and fill that void.”

The route will not be served via IFRA’s main terminal but out of a private operator, AeroMark, which is located just south of the airport at 1940 International Way. Passengers will enjoy free parking and will not need to go through a TSA checkpoint before boarding. Travelers will also have the luxury of arriving only 30 minutes prior to departure.

Travelers should also be aware that flights will arrive and depart the Boise Airport from the main terminal at the Gem Air counter.

“Gem Air is dedicated to making travel convenient and comfortable for our passengers,” states Gem Air’s director of airline development, David Schroeder. “With two round-trips a day, travelers can get in a full day of business and be home the same night.”

Flights are slightly more than an hour long and will run twice a day on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Departures from Idaho Falls will be in the morning and afternoon. Ticket prices begin at $149.

For more information or to book tickets, visit www.gemairflights.com.

How to handle employee arrests

Getting arrested is probably not on anyone's bucket list, nor is it likely to be anyone's favorite topic for conversation in the break room during lunch time. People make mistakes because they are people. No one is perfect.

While everyone hopes they won’t be involuntarily wearing shiny cuffs, sporting orange or brown county-assigned clothing, or spending time away in the “all-inclusive” county “resort,” the fact of the matter is sometimes it happens (a word of advice: to avoid this experience, don't break the law.)

I am sure if you were able to watch the thoughts of someone who has just been arrested there would be a jumbled mess of "what if" and "what will" questions flashing across the screen. One of those "what will" questions is likely "What will happen to my job?"

To be honest with you, when an employee is arrested an employer is faced with a similar question: "What will we do now?" On the employer side there are many more questions that follow and there really aren’t easy answers or set ways for an employer or employee to respond.

On both sides it is important for there to be a level of honesty. As an employee, it's better to be up front with your manager instead of your manager finding out from a background check, court disposition or surprise phone call from a friend or family member. In the past when I have worked with employees who have been arrested I have given them a certain level of flexibility and tried to work with them if they have been up front with me. It is probably one of the hardest conversations you will ever have with a manager, but it could save your job. On the employer side it is also important to let the employee know that it will take time to consider and review what the company will do, based on company policy, liabilities, and other factors. It is also best practice to be honest in giving the employee a timeline for when they might expect a decision.

Easy enough and it all works out after that, right? Well, not quite. This is actually where it gets very complex on the employer's side. If an employer does not have a carefully outlined policy stating what an employee has to do if they are arrested and what types of arrests and/or convictions result in disciplinary action, the door is wide open to all sorts of confusion. The best practice is to get a policy in place but it is a very cloudy area to explore and should be reviewed thoroughly by an HR professional or legal adviser.

Most small-to-medium-sized employers haven’t implemented policies that clearly state what should be done, so when an employee is arrested it can be very complex.

Any arrest should be individually considered. Some factors to consider include the offense the employee has been charged with, how long the employee might be incarcerated if convicted, and what relationship does the arrest have with the employee’s job. Without considering these factors individually and determining in advance what steps can be taken (disciplinary action, termination, etc.), employers run the risk of being accused of wrongful termination or discriminatory practices.

If an employee has been charged with a serious crime, you may want to adopt a standard policy under which the person is automatically suspended (paid or unpaid) pending the outcome of the case. If the employee is exonerated or if the charges are dismissed, he or she may be reinstated (require documentation from the courts). If the employee is convicted, terminate employment.

Employers also have to be mindful that the steps and actions they take with the arrest of one employee have to be consistent should another employee be arrested down the road. Employers “picking and choosing” -- e.g. "Johnny's a good guy and just made a mistake getting a DUI, but Josh is a jerk so we're using his DUI as a reason for letting him go" -- leave the door wide open for being charged with discriminatory practices.

Arrests of employees should be handled carefully to ensure the employee and the situation are being handled in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Additionally, employees should be aware the employers have to make decisions based on business needs, being mindful of the risks and liabilities arrests, convictions and incarceration can have.

Monica Bitrick is the CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, an Idaho Falls human resources company.

USA Today picks Bullseye Burger as best of state fair fare

This came out more than a month ago and was sent to me by Tyler Archibald, but in the interest of immediate impact I decided to hold it until the eve of the Eastern Idaho State Fair, which starts tomorrow.

In its July 23 survey "State fair fare: View funky (usually fried) food," USA Today chose the Bullseye Burger as Idaho's dish to be savored. "This bacon cheeseburger is topped with a fried egg and served on a glazed doughnut. Other fair food includes bacon wrapped chestnuts, fried cheesecake bites, smoked turkey legs and sirloin steak served on a stick," the article reported.

Other state fair dishes included: Rocky Mountain Oysters (Montana), Pierogies (New Jersey) and Pulled Pork Parfait (Illinois). I can feel my arteries filling cholesterol even as I read this.

The Bullseye Burger is the creation of Outlaw Catering of Blackfoot. Here is their Facebook page if you want to like them: Outlaw Catering.