Super Bowl Sunday costs companies almost half a billion dollars in lost productivity. Here's how to keep your team focused before and after the game.

Companies that can offer late starts or adjusted shifts for employees the day after the Super Bowl may find that flexibility preferable to dealing with widespread lateness after the fact. If employees company wide are big football fans, they will likely be more productive — and less wasteful of company time and resources — if given the opportunity to shift their hours so they clock in and out an hour or two later than usual. Employers who rely on shift work may want to ask for volunteers to step up and take Monday morning hours.

Regardless of how you choose to handle Monday hours post-Super Bowl, Rewers emphasized the importance of setting clear expectations with employees so they'll be prepared to show up ready to be productive.

If Super Bowl pools and other forms of gambling have caused issues in the workplace previously, it's best to over-communicate the company's rules and regulations. Employers should email employees about boundaries ASAP to get ahead of these activities, which can add an extra layer of distraction to Super Bowl week.

Football fans and halftime show lovers alike are bound to show up at work Monday with plenty of things to discuss about their Super Bowl viewing experience. These conversations can and should be contained to a specific time and space.

Ask employees to hold off on all Super Bowl talk until lunchtime, or until a designated 30-minute window at the end of the day when everyone who's interested can meet in one area to debrief. Per Rewers, this "helps people mentally shift their focus and stay focused, instead of constantly having interruptions throughout the day." The time it takes to refocus on work after a random break for Super Bowl talk adds up to a lot of lost productivity.

Once employees have been given a chance to share their experiences watching the Super Bowl — the snacks they ate, the commercials they loved, their take on the half-time show, their thoughts on the game-winning play — managers should communicate goals for the rest of the week, along with key performance indicators they'll be keeping an eye on.

In fact, Boughey recommended setting more challenging goals than usual in the week after the big game to jumpstart motivation and reemphasize the importance of staying on track with work.

"You may consider creating a work sprint where teams come together to work on a big project together," he said. "This could be a current project or a non-urgent big project that could get finished with dedicated time and focus."

Companies that experience higher distraction among employees in the days after the Super Bowl may benefit from a little extra structure in the first week of February. Boughey suggested implementing daily check-ins for people or employees who get particularly caught up in the football excitement.

When these check-ins are collaborative (instead of singling certain individuals out) and balanced with a healthy tolerance for Super Bowl excitement, this will ensure they stay accountable for the expectations set by the company, and give them the opportunity to report in on performance indicators.

"It's important that we treat employees like the adults they are," Rewers said. "Giving some leeway for folks to connect about a shared experience like the Super Bowl isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as there are boundaries set around it — and then you can get them refocused on work."