Now that the confetti has fallen and Super Bowl Sunday is behind America, businesses across the country are bracing for a potential sharp drop in workers on Monday.
It’s a growing employment issue for companies, as the day after the Super Bowl usually draws impromptu sick day call-ins, while some switch shifts and others simply “ghost” the company and skip work without notice. “Super Sick Monday” is projected to see a record number of American employees missing the day after the game.
Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), a human resources management firm, conducted a survey, and the results found that as many as 26.6 million workers nationwide are likely to miss work on Monday. That’s more than 3 million additional workers calling in sick the day after the game last year.
“Last year’s record-breaking prediction preceded Super Bowl LIX being the most-watched program in the history of broadcast television — and data shows employees are not only planning ahead for it, but also hoping for an assist from their employer,” said Julie Develin, Senior Partner, HCM Advisory at UKG.
Many plan to use outstanding sick days or even vacation days to cover for the day after the Super Bowl. Some are tapping co-workers to switch shifts.
Florida isn’t so bad when it comes to “Super Sick Monday.” Gambling website Betway analyzed Google searches for the day after the Super Bowl and absenteeism and found that West Virginia is the state most likely to see workers calling in sick the day after the big game. Kansas came in second, followed by Arizona in third.
Neither Massachusetts nor Washington, both states with teams in the Super Bowl, was ranked in the top 10, with Washington ranked 20th.
Florida’s workers seem more industrious, as the Sunshine State was ranked 41st among states where employees might call in sick after the NFL world championship game. Louisiana was ranked 50th. In fact, eight of the 10 states least likely to have employees miss work after the big game had NFL teams.
