“More than 80% of the workforce are in frontline roles where working holidays and weekends is the norm. Whether the Super Bowl is played on a holiday weekend or not, frontline-heavy organizations will need to employ creative staffing techniques,” said Develin. “Shift swaps are a practical reality for frontline teams — trading working Thanksgiving for Christmas, weekends for weekdays — yet other UKG research shows half⁹ (50%) of employees say it’s difficult to change shifts at the last minute.” 

Many employees are letting a teammate treat the actual Super Bowl more like a holiday than a typical game day, actively swapping into a shift, but many more who want to watch will still be working: 

• 6.6 million¹⁰ employees are swapping shifts Sunday with another co-worker who wants to watch the game; 
• 18 million¹¹ are planning to work their Sunday night shift but watch at least some of the game; and 
• 3 in 5 employees (60%) saying they would volunteer to work during the Super Bowl if their organization offered premium pay or another incentive for working that shift.  

The Year of Must-watch Absence 

Super Bowl LX kicks off a year filled with must-watch moments that could impact work, with U.S. employees citing several events in the first half of 2026 alone that might impact attendance: 

• Feb. 6-22, Winter Olympics: 26.2 million¹² (16%);  
• March 17-April 6, NCAA Men’s March Madness Tournament: 18 million¹³ (11%)  
• June 11-July 19, FIFA World Cup: 36 million¹⁴ (22%); and 
• Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce Wedding: 13 million¹⁵ (8%). 

“The Super Bowl still holds the trophy for what could be the largest single day of potential work-related absence, yet these multi-week, must-watch moments can be even trickier to plan labor,” said Develin. “Organizations should set reminders several weeks ahead to start staffing conversations early. That kind of long-term workforce planning helps ensure work is covered and prevents last-minute staffing gaps.” 

About UKG 

UKG is a leading global AI platform for HR, pay, and workforce management. Unifying award-winning solutions with the world’s largest collection of workforce data and people-first AI, UKG delivers unrivaled insights into today’s workforce, helping organizations in every industry turn data into decisions that elevate productivity, culture, and the customer experience. Trusted by more than 80,000 organizations across 150 countries, tens of millions of employees — from small businesses to global enterprises — use UKG every day. To learn more, visit ukg.com. 

Survey Methodology: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UKG from January 15 - 20, 2026, among 1,288 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 +/-3.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected]. 

 

 

 

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