‘Got that birds flu’: More than 22 million American workers will call out sick this Super Bowl Monday
More than 22 million Americans are expected to call out sick from work on Monday following Sunday night’s Super Bowl LIX.
An estimated 22.6 million employees plan to be absent, according to a recent report from software company UKG, which found that number is up from just over 16 million last year.
“This breaks the previous record of 18.8 million U.S. employees who said they’d be out in 2023 – which, coincidentally, was the last time the Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles faced off in the big game,” UKG noted.
Social media was littered with jokes about skipping out on the office after a football-and-wings-filled evening.
“May be calling out sick tomorrow. Got that birds flu,” wrote X user @RileyCheeseman.
“The percentage of Swifties calling out sick or missing school today has to be at an all-time high today,” mused @MLBwildthing.
Philadelphia Eagles fans were celebrating their victory on the streets of Philly Sunday night and around New Orleans, where the game was held.
The game was largely a blowout, with the Eagles besting Kansas City 40-22. The Chiefs were back-to-back champions, and were playing for a third ring.
Super Bowl LVIII had record ratings, with 123.4 million average viewers across all platforms. This year, 65 percent of consumers had planned to watch the game, according to consumer data company Numerator.
While it’s estimated that Americans drink more than 325 million gallons of beer on Super Bowl Sunday, sales of non-alcoholic drinks have jumped in the course of the past year. Michelob Ultra Zero debuted in a commercial at this year’s game, alongside other beer ads. But it’s unclear how many people actually spared themselves the hangovers this year.
Whatever the case, UKG says skipping work after the big game is a longstanding tradition. More than 3 million call in sick even if they’re not, another 3.2 million skip work without telling anyone, 12.9 million take a pre-approved day off, and nearly 5 million swap shifts with a colleague.
“An additional 12.9 million U.S. employees say they’ll go into work late on Monday after the Super Bowl,” UKG’s report notes.
And, even more Americans – 6 percent more than last year – believe that the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
Still, not everyone believes skipping is the way to go.
