Kicking Off February with Record Employee Absences? Blame the Big Game.

Will this year’s big game prove record-breaking? No, I don’t mean the Kansas City Chiefs clinching their first-ever “three-peat” victory on Sunday. I mean workplaces across America racking up employee absences on Monday.

An estimated 22.6 million¹ U.S. employees plan to miss work the day after Super Bowl LIX. That’s up from 16.1 million² employees last year, and it breaks the previous record of 18.8 million³ employees who said they’d be out in 2023, according to new UKG research conducted online by The Harris Poll.

This workplace phenomenon isn’t new, though. The UKG Workforce Institute has tracked the big game’s impacts on employee absenteeism, presenteeism, and productivity for two decades. We launched the annual survey back in 2005, because we wanted to help organizations better prepare for sudden spikes in so-called “Super Bowl Flu” cases. Did you know that an estimated 17.7 million⁴ U.S. employees say they’ve called in sick to work on the Monday after a Super Bowl, even though they weren’t actually sick?

Most importantly, by fielding this survey each year, we hope to inspire more open communication among employees and their managers to mitigate the productivity loss and culture impacts of unplanned absences. Additionally, by encouraging communication about these types of life events that impact work, organizations can build more camaraderie, trust, and transparency, which are essential to building great places to work.

As football fans everywhere prepare for Sunday’s kickoff, let’s review some key stats from the 2025 UKG Super Bowl Absenteeism survey and how organizations can devise a winning game plan for employee engagement.

How will the big game impact employee absenteeism and productivity?

Of the 22.6 million employed Americans who plan to miss work on Monday, about 3.2 million⁵ U.S. employees say they’ll run a trick play by calling in sick, even if they’re not actually sick (after all, that Super Bowl Flu is infectious). Meanwhile, another 3.2 million⁶ employees plan to “ghost” their employer by skipping work without telling anyone, risking a workplace penalty. These are the specific numbers we want to see decline year over year, and we’ve seen a positive trend in that regard the past few years (more on that later).

Even among those employees who expect to be at work on Super Bowl Sunday or the Monday after, millions of employed Americans admit the big game could sack their overall workplace productivity—including people managers. According to our survey:

• An estimated 17.7 million⁷ U.S. employees say they will be working on Super Bowl Sunday, but they still plan to watch at least some of the game. This includes more than 1 in 10 (13%) people managers working on Sunday.
• Of those employed Americans who plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, 4 in 10 (40%) say they’ll be distracted by Super Bowl media coverage when they work the Monday after the game—a significant increase from last year’s 28% of employees. Nearly half (49%) of people managers say they’ll be distracted on Monday, too.
• Over a third (36%) of U.S. employees who plan to watch the Super Bowl this year say they’ll be less productive than they normally are at work on Monday after the Super Bowl—up from 30% in 2024. That includes 44% of people managers who think they’ll be less productive on Monday.

Regarding the growing debate of whether the Monday after the big game should become a national holiday, more employed Americans believe yes: 43% this year vs. 37% who agreed in 2024. Moreover, new for the 2025 survey, 56% of U.S. employees who plan to watch the Super Bowl wish their organization gave them the day off on that conspicuous Monday.

Why are people tuning into the Super Bowl this Sunday?

While millions of people always tune in for the commercials, the halftime show is still a big draw for football fanatics and casual viewers alike. According to our survey, 72% of employed Americans who plan to watch the Super Bowl say they’ll tune in to watch the halftime show, which includes rapper Kendrick Lamar’s headline performance. That’s a greater number than those tuning in for any quarter of gameplay (67% first, 66% second, 63% third, 66% fourth quarter/overtime), as well as who plans to watch pre-game (41%) or post-game (29%) coverage. Moreover, 12% of employees who plan to watch the Super Bowl say they’re tuning in because they’re hoping to see Lamar and Drake “settle their beef.”

And with Travis Kelce currently in his “championship era,” Taylor Swift and her legions of fans are expected to watch en masse. According to our survey, about 16.1 million⁸ self-professed “Swifties” say they’ll be tuning in because they hoped the Chiefs would make it again so they can see Taylor Swift. While this total tops the 11.2 million⁹ Swifties from our 2024 survey, the actual number of Swifties on the bleachers, in luxury suites, or watching from elsewhere Sunday could be much higher, as we conducted this year’s survey prior to the Chiefs securing a spot in the season’s championship game.

What can organizations do to support their sports fans?

The intersection of work and life often includes pop culture, societal moments, and sporting events happening beyond the walls of most organizations. Companies and leaders can lean into these events—instead of pretending they don’t exist—to build camaraderie and understand how they could impact the business. Fortunately, 65% of U.S. employees say their manager does a good job acknowledging how outside events (e.g., major pop culture events, holidays) can impact their work.

That’s good news, as 52% of U.S. employees say they have or would be willing to miss work to watch a sporting event besides the Super Bowl—from the NBA Finals (23%), Olympics (18%), or MLB World Series (16%) to the FIFA World Cup or NCAA March Madness (both at 14%) to a UFC match (13%) or WWE WrestleMania (11%). This data aligns with a similar survey that the UKG Workforce Institute commissioned last year, which revealed 27.5 million employed Americans planned to miss work to watch the 2024 Summer Olympics over a two-week period.

From the Super Bowl to March Madness to the Olympics, and every marquee event in between, these milestone moments and workplace priorities are not mutually exclusive. Thus, organizations shouldn’t ignore their real impacts on employees’ absenteeism, presenteeism, and productivity.

Here are three plays to help increase employee engagement and decrease unplanned absenteeism.

Talk early and openly with employees about upcoming events and time off. Our 2025 survey found 46% of U.S. employees would feel more comfortable asking to take off the Monday after the Super Bowl if they knew their manager was also taking the day off. However, just 8% of employees say their manager has actively reached out to see if they were planning to take the day off or come in late the Monday after the Super Bowl this year. Leaders often set the tone for how employees act (or react), so start the conversation to get employees more comfortable about sharing their time-off plans.

Plan for gaps in coverage and schedule employees accordingly. Major sporting and pop-culture events are often cyclical and most occur annually around the same time, which makes them more predictable. Mark these events on a shared team calendar and devise an effective game plan that works for employees and customers. Remember: some people prefer to work during popular time-off periods, such as holidays that their families don’t celebrate or events that don’t interest them. Offering employees the ability to swap shifts with co-workers who would prefer to work that day provides greater flexibility while still serving business needs.

Host a themed event before the big game or a watch party for employees who are on the clock. According to our survey, 53% of U.S. employees say their organization isn’t hosting a Super Bowl-themed event or activity at work this year—however, 16% of employees wish their organization did. Our latest research on the frontline workforce shows 75% of frontline employees are feeling burned out, and work-life balance/flexibility is the second-most important factor—behind pay/compensation—influencing where they decide to work. Incorporating sporting and pop-culture events like the Super Bowl into the workplace culture can help organizations gain positive yardage in becoming an employer of choice.

To learn more strategies for reducing employee absenteeism, increasing organizational productivity, and building a winning culture, download the UKG Productivity Playbook.

Survey Methodology and Footnotes

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UKG from January 16-21, 2025, among 1,220 employed adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.3 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].

Footnote 1: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 14% of employed adults who plan to not go to work on the Monday after Super Bowl LIX = 22,632,540.

Footnote 2: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that, at the time, estimated there were 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 10% of employed adults who said in the 2024 UKG Super Bowl Absenteeism survey they planned to not go to work on the Monday after Super Bowl LVIII = 16,118,300.

Footnote 3: Calculation based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2022 report that, at the time, estimated there were 157,033,000 employed people adults in the United States: 157,033,000 x 12% of employed adults who said in the 2023 UKG Super Bowl Absenteeism survey they planned to not go to work on the Monday after Super Bowl LVII = 18,843,960.

Footnote 4: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 11% of employed adults who say they’ve called in sick to work on the Monday after a Super Bowl, even though they weren’t actually sick.

Footnote 5: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 2% of employed adults who plan to call in sick to work even if they’re not actually sick on the Monday after Super Bowl LIX = 3,233,220.

Footnote 6: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 2% of employed adults who plan to “ghost” their work (i.e., not show up/not plan to work and not tell anyone they will not be working) on the Monday after Super Bowl LIX = 3,233,220.

Footnote 7: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 11% of employed adults who say they will be working on Super Bowl Sunday but still plan to watch at least some of the game = 17,782,710.

Footnote 8: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2024 report that estimates there are 161,661,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,661,000 x 10% of employed adults who plan to watch Super Bowl LIX and are tuning in because they’re a “Swiftie” and hope they can see Taylor Swift = 16,166,100.

Footnote 9: Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that, at the time, estimated there were 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 7% of employed adults who said in the 2024 UKG Super Bowl Absenteeism survey they would watch Super Bowl LVIII and were hoping for a Taylor Swift sighting = 11,282,810.