An estimated 16.1 million U.S. employees plan to miss work, or show up late, on the Monday after Super Bowl LVIII. Plus, Allegiant Stadium runs on renewable energy.
An estimated 16.1 million1 U.S. employees plan to miss work the Monday after Super Bowl LVIII, including over 6 million U.S. employees who will risk a workplace penalty for faking sick or “ghosting” work altogether and not showing up. That’s according to new research conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the UKG Workforce Institute, which has tracked absenteeism surrounding the Super Bowl for nearly two decades.
Cases of the so-called “Super Bowl Flu” emerge annually across America, with an estimated 14.5 million2 employed adults in the U.S. admitting they’ve called in sick to work when they weren’t actually sick on the Monday after the Super Bowl — including over 1 in 10 people managers (11%), according to UKG.
On Sunday, February 11 in Las Vegas, NV, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will take the field at Allegiant Stadium for Super Bowl LVIII. (Credit: Adobe Stock / Steve Cukrov)
There is some good news: The number of anticipated Super Bowl Monday absences for 2024 is down slightly from last year, when 18.8 million employees said they planned to miss work. Another positive development for 2024 is about 10 million3 U.S. employees have already requested the day off, which helps managers better prepare for game-related absences.
Despite anticipated lower absentee numbers, about 6.4 million4 U.S. employees plan to go into work late, another 11.2 million5 employees say they’re “not sure” whether they’ll miss work, and an additional 6.4 million6 employees will decide at the last minute what to do.
Here are more details:
14% of U.S. employees — about 22.5 million7 employees — plan to miss at least some work on Monday following the Super Bowl. This includes 1 in 5 managers.
Over a third of U.S. employees (37%) believe the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
For those scheduled to work Super Bowl Sunday itself, about 3.2 million8 U.S. employees plan to call in sick or just not show up to work so they can watch the game.
More than a quarter of all U.S. employees (28%) — roughly 45.1 million9 employees — say they’ll be less productive than usual at work on Monday after the Super Bowl this year.
Over a third of U.S. employees (37%) believe the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
Why would employees rather risk a penalty than call time out? The UKG survey found that 7% of U.S. employees (about 11.2 million employees) — and 10% of managers — say they’d be reprimanded by management if they asked to miss work on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
These findings highlight critical gaps in communication, transparency, and trust in organizations — all key factors in building a great place to work. According to the study, 49% of managers say they plan to ask their employees directly about their time-off plans for the Super Bowl. However, only 7% of U.S. 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 big game. And, only 5% of managers say they plan to personally notify their team of their own game-related absence.
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“Like winning teams, successful organizations are built on open communication and trust,” said Dr. Jarik Conrad, vice president of human insights at UKG and executive director of the UKG Workforce Institute.
“Trust is the new currency at work, and it pays dividends. We all have lives outside of the workplace — yes, even managers,” Conrad continued. “We need to focus on being more open with one another, communicating our distinct needs and wants, so we know how to best support our teammates and achieve our goals together. Best of all, there are tools and technology to help simplify scheduling, facilitate easy shift-swapping among employees, and even assist managers in starting these impactful conversations. Although Super Bowl Monday isn’t a national holiday, despite popular opinion, we can use cultural moments like this one to keep the conversations going and foster trust, as we work together to create a great place to work for all people.”
(Source: Allegiant Stadium)
Allegiant Stadium: First NFL Stadium Powered By 100% Renewable Energy
On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will take the field at the recently opened Allegiant Stadium for Super Bowl LVIII. The game marks the first time Las Vegas and the state of Nevada will welcome the Super Bowl, but it’s also the first time the event has been held at an NFL Stadium powered by 100% renewable energy.
In October, the Las Vegas Raiders and Allegiant Stadium, in partnership with NV Energy, announced the stadium’s conversion to 100% renewable energy. With this historic achievement, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders became the first NFL stadium powered exclusively by renewable energy.
“The Las Vegas Raiders are proud to set the bar in sustainability not only for the NFL but for sports around the world,” said Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan. “We have a responsibility to our fans, players, community and planet to tackle sustainability head-on and set a new standard for sustainability in sports. Our reach and impact extend far beyond the game.”
“Allegiant Stadium is excited to reach this tremendous milestone in our ongoing sustainability efforts,” said Allegiant Stadium’s General Manager Chris Wright. “It has been and will continue to be our mission to develop and improve sustainable policies that reduce our environmental footprint while bringing world-class concerts, sporting events, and corporate events to Las Vegas. It is an honor to be the first stadium in North America to reach this achievement and to set the standard for what is possible as we continue to make an impact on the Las Vegas community and beyond.”
The renewable power supplied to the stadium is produced within Nevada and serves the stadium and other NV Energy customers. According to NV Energy, the renewable energy solution they identified guarantees cost stability now and for years to come for the stadium.
“NV Energy is honored to be the energy supplier for the Las Vegas Raiders and their home at Allegiant Stadium,” said Doug Cannon, NV Energy president and CEO. “This project is emblematic of our commitment to meeting our customers’ unique energy needs and identifying an innovative path forward to meet the Raiders’ and Allegiant Stadium’s vision of being the first NFL team and stadium powered by all renewable energy – this renewable energy project is a win for the environment and demonstrates NV Energy’s ongoing commitment to powering Nevada with more sustainable energy.”
In July, Allegiant Stadium obtained LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and is now one of seven NFL stadiums to achieve LEED certification. Other sustainability initiatives at Allegiant Stadium include:
Waste Diversion: The stadium diverts waste from the landfill and currently repurposes, reuses, or donates 20 material streams.
Food Scrap Collection: On average, 12,000 pounds of kitchen prep cuttings and end-of-event food scraps are collected per large stadium event.
Cigarette Waste Collection: Allegiant Stadium is the first stadium in the U.S. to divert cigarette waste from the landfill and convert that waste into energy. More than 69,000 Watts of Energy have been created from this program.
Raiders Field Grass Clippings: The stadium diverts grass clippings to the onsite biomass machine. To date, 160,800 pounds of grass clippings have been composted or diverted.
1 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 10% of employed adults who plan to not go to work on the Monday after Super Bowl LVIII = 16,118,300. This includes employees who plan to not go to work either by taking a pre-approved personal day/PTO (6%), calling in sick even if they’re not actually sick (2%), or “ghosting” their employer (2%).
2 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 9% of employed adults who say they have called in sick to work even if they were not actually sick the Monday after the Super Bowl = 14,506,470.
3 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 6% of employed adults who say they are taking a pre-approved personal day/PTO on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 9,670,980.
4 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 4% of employed adults who say they plan to go to work late on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 6,447,320.
5 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 7% of employed adults who say they say they are not sure about whether they’ll report to work on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 11,282,810.
6 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 4% of employed adults who say they will decide at the last minute what to do in regard to going to work on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 6,447,320.
7 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 14% of employed adults who say they plan to not go to work or go to work late on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 22,565,620.
8 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 2% each of employed adults who say, although they are scheduled to work on Super Bowl Sunday, they plan to call in sick or just not show up so they can watch the game = 3,223,660.
9 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 28% of employed adults who strongly agree or somewhat agree with the statement “I will be less productive than I normally am at work on the Monday after the Super Bowl this year” = 45,131,240.
10 Calculation based on a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2023 report that estimates there are 161,183,000 employed adults in the United States: 161,183,000 x 7% of employed adults who believe they would be reprimanded (e.g., given a warning, put on probation, given extra work) by management if they asked to miss work (either part of the day or the whole day) on the Monday after the Super Bowl = 11,282,810.
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