Millions likely to ditch work day after game: survey

Thinking about staying home the Monday after the Super Bowl? It turns out you’re not alone. 

‘Super Bowl fever’ is expected to result in 17.5 million employees missing work on Monday, according to a survey by the Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated. It’s the largest amount ever since the institute began tracking in 2005. Kronos conducted the online survey with 1,148 U.S. employees. 

While 11.1 million workers plan to use pre-approved time to stay home on Super Bowl Monday, 4.7 million plan to call out sick even though they’re not ill, the survey found. Some workers even plan to not just show up, with 1.5 million workers planning to “ghost” their employer without notifying anyone. 

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“Despite the well-documented spike in workplace absences on the Monday following the Super Bowl, many organizations continue to operate as though it is business as usual that day,” said Joyce Maroney, executive director of The Workforce Institute at Kronos in a news release. “While the focus remains largely on reactive measures – such as memos, discipline, and even firings – organizations that proactively plan will be rewarded with fewer absences and, more importantly, higher employee engagement,”