Twenty-two percent of U.S. workers say they plan to join in Super Bowl office pools this year, according to a new survey by CareerBuilder.com, the nation's largest online job network. While 39 percent of workers expect the payout for the Super Bowl winner at their office will be $100 or less, 61 percent expect to potentially win more than $100 and 15 percent anticipate the prize will exceed $500. The survey was conducted from November 22, 2004 to December 2, 2004 and included more than 2,500 workers.

More than one-third of workers report they have entered a Super Bowl office pool in the past. Men were more likely to take part with 45 percent placing bets, compared to 31 percent of women.

"While placing a friendly wager at the office may seem harmless, workers should be mindful of company policies to avoid possible reprimands," said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. "Seventeen percent of workers report that Super Bowl office pools are prohibited at their companies while 36 percent are unsure. The safe bet is to check with your manager first."

In addition to Super Bowl pools, workers shared the most unusual pools they participated in at the office:

   -- Who will be fired first
   -- How many cigarettes the boss will smoke in a meeting
   -- Who can knock over a cup of coffee with a golf putt from 45 feet away
   -- How often a co-worker will show up late
   -- How many times a co-worker will cry in a given period of time
   -- Annual bet on which senior executives will still be with the company
      at year-end
   -- Who will be awarded a promotion
   -- A patient's blood alcohol level
   -- Cockroach race
   -- Who will become pregnant first
   -- Who will lose the most weight

For more information about CareerBuilder.com surveys, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/Share/AboutUs/pr/

Survey Methodology

The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "Super Bowl Pools," was conducted from November 22, 2004 to December 2, 2004 of more than 2,500 workers. To collect data for the survey, CareerBuilder.com commissioned SurveySite to use an e-mail methodology whereby individuals who are members of SurveySite Web Panel were randomly selected and approached by e-mail invitation to participate in the online survey. The results of this survey are accurate within +/-1.96 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's leading online job network with more than 15 million unique visitors and over 600,000 jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company , and Knight Ridder, Inc. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the online career centers for more than 450 partners that reach national, local, industry, diversity and niche audiences. These include more than 130 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 30,000 of the nation's top employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 10 million-plus resumes, comprehensive screening tools and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/ .

  Media Contact:
  Jennifer Sullivan
  (773) 527-1164
  jennifer.sullivan@careerbuilder.com

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com