HOUSTON—After an extensive study undertaken over the past two years, a new report published Friday by Rice University concluded that secretly watching the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament at work was way less fun while working remotely. “The vast majority of respondents shared that most of the fun of watching March Madness was having the window up on their computer screen and quickly minimizing it right before their manager walked by their desk, or having a single AirPod in to listen to the game while pretending to pore over a spreadsheet,” said research co-author Michael Wilder, adding that most office workers agreed that paying attention to a basketball game at 2 p.m. between two colleges they had no affiliation with actually wasn’t all that interesting when viewed at home. “Covid has impacted how we squander time at work in many ways, and the lack of enjoyment of March Madness is no different. In most cases, talking in hushed tones to coworkers about a game they were all secretly watching in the office on the company dime was the single most significant reason for watching. Interest in the tourney has decreased considerably among remote employees, having become just another way to dick around at work while no one’s really paying attention to them. Our study concluded that for remote employees, the thrill of March Madness is basically gone.” The study found that in many cases, employees working remotely were actually secretly working while pretending to watch the tournament.