Most workplaces have no formal ban on office pools, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The pools are tolerated in more than seven out of 10 workplaces, the survey found. Most respondents said they have no formal or informal policies regarding this sort of gambling in the workplace.

 "Office pools, whether for the NCAA tournament, the Oscars, or other major event, are popular non-work-related experiences for employees," says Susan R. Meisinger, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. "Even though the pools can potentially affect employee productivity, few organizations have official policies against them."

The survey found that 19 percent of organizations have a formal policy on workplace gambling, up 5 percent from last year. Three percent of organizations said they had disciplined employees for violating their gambling policies in the past 12 months.

SHRM conducted the survey last month among HR professionals who are members of SHRM. More information is available at http://www.shrm.org/surveys.