There’s a good chance when you go to work on Monday you’ll find the office emptier than normal. That’s because a lot of people will likely be out, recovering from too much partying on Super Bowl Sunday. As we previously told you, a majority of workers say they know someone who called in sick the day after the big game, and now a new report reveals just how bad those absences can get.
A poll conducted by The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated finds that 17.2 million employees are likely to skip work this Monday, which is the largest rate of expected post-Super Bowl absenteeism since the group started tracking such absences in 2005. The previous high was in 2016 with 16.5 million workers expected to miss work.
Of those skipping work Monday, about 8-million are taking a pre-approved day off, although 4.7-million plan to call in sick, even though they aren’t sick. And even if folks do come into work, employers are likely not to get a full day out of them, with 22-million employees expected to either come in late (3.1-mil), leave early (6.3-mil), or work remotely from home (12.5-mil).
Luckily, it seems some bosses don’t get too angry when folks skip work after the big game. In fact, the poll finds 62% of senior level execs actually think it’s funny when workers call out sick after the Super Bowl, while only 51% of junior and mid-level employees can find the humor in it.
- With all this in mind, should companies just start making the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday? Well, it turns out most people don’t think so. Only 32% of workers think it should be a national holiday, although that number goes up to 41% for those 18 to 34.
Source: Kronos