Whether it was the stellar halftime performance, a fourth-quarter Hail Mary, or the overload of chips and guacamole, employees may struggle to go the extra mile (or yard) on Super Bowl Monday. While Super Bowl Monday hasn’t quite reached national holiday status, it doesn’t mean some employees haven’t thought about it!
Fun facts according to the Workforce Institute of UKG:
- Although a normal workday, Super Bowl Monday is the least productive workday nationally and the most popular sick day of the year.
- Roughly one out of every five U.S. employees (17%)—an estimated 26.6 million people—are likely to miss at least some work on Super Bowl Monday, including a combined record-breaking 18.8 million U.S. employees not planning to go to work and 7.8 million who plan to start work late
- More than two out of every five U.S. employees (42%) believe that the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday.
Many employees would root to have Super Bowl Monday as a paid holiday but for most organizations, it’s not that simple.
Paid Holiday Trends
Employers offer an average of nine paid holidays per year, and the most commonly offered are Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day, according to the Employee Benefits Survey: 2022 Results by the International Foundation. However, organizations may have workers who want to observe a wider range of holidays for cultural, religious or other reasons (Super Bowl Monday would fall under “other reasons”).
Floating Holidays
With dozens of holidays to consider, how can organizations ensure that their paid holiday schedule is inclusive of a greater number of workers without losing control of the number of paid days? Offering floating holidays could be an option. Floating holidays are paid days off that employees can typically use at any time for any reason (within employer guidelines) and are offered in addition to other paid time off (PTO). More than half (55%) of corporations offer paid floating holidays to their employees, most commonly providing one or two days a year.
Loading ... Loading ... Loading ...Paid Vacation Trends
Most workplaces offer vacation time for employees to use however they see fit. According to the International Foundation’s Paid Leave in the Workplace survey report, the overwhelming majority (98%) of organizations offer paid vacation. Over three-quarters (77%) of organizations encourage employees to take paid vacation days. Super Bowl Monday might be a perfect opportunity to suggest a vacation day, especially if your team is one of the lucky competitors to make it to the big gig.
Quick Huddle Before Super Bowl Monday
I spoke with Julie Stich, CEBS, Vice President of Content at the International Foundation, asking what companies could do to prepare for Super Bowl Monday, knowing the inevitable lack of productivity, unplanned sick days and late employees. She pointed out that unplanned time off is more disruptive to handle than planned time off. Managers could review and chat with employees about PTO, vacation time, floating holiday arrangements, and flexible and remote work options, with the goal of planning ahead for Super Bowl Monday.
