Super Bowl Monday will set a record for the second straight year for U.S. employees who plan to miss work, according to UKG’s annual Super Bowl Absenteeism Survey. An estimated 26.2¹ million employed Americans say they will miss work the day after the big game, surpassing 2025’s record-setting 22.6 million employees and potentially costing upwards of $5.2 billion² in lost work and productivity.  

Since 2005, UKG, a leading global AI platform unifying HR, payroll, and workforce management, has commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct Super Bowl-related absenteeism research to provide organizations with workforce insights needed to effectively plan labor around the big game and other major worldwide events that can impact staffing and productivity. 

In 20 years of studying the Super Bowl Fever phenomenon, UKG shows a silver lining for productivity: Americans are planning ahead, with many employees hoping their employer will proactively plan as well, ensuring everyone can win.  

Here’s how some of the 26.2 million employed Americans who may miss work plan to do so: 

• 13.1 million³ plan to take a pre‑approved day off, compared to 12.9 million in ’25 and 10 million in ‘24; 
• 6.5 million⁴ plan to swap shifts with a co-worker, compared to 4.8 million in ‘25; 
• 3.3 million⁵ intend to call out sick despite not being ill, similar to 3.2 million in ‘25; and 
• 1.6 million⁶ plan to ‘ghost’ work without notifying their employer, compared to 3.2 million in ’25. 

It doesn’t end at missing work, either: Approximately 4.9 million⁷ workers plan to go into work late without letting their manager know in advance. 

“Last year’s record-breaking prediction preceded Super Bowl LIX being the most-watched program in the history of broadcast television — and data shows employees are not only planning ahead for it, but also hoping for an assist from their employer,” said Julie Develin, Senior Partner, HCM Advisory at UKG. “This year it appears that fewer employees plan to ghost work and others are proactively swapping shifts. That kind of workforce understanding and insights is a net positive because unplanned absences can quickly add up — potentially costing businesses more than $5 billion in lost productivity.” 

Organizations and Leaders are Building Game-winning Playbooks for Super Bowl Absence    
More than half of employees (56%) say if managers started coverage planning weeks before the Super Bowl, it would reduce last-minute call-outs at their workplace, and 54% say clear, early communication from their manager about Super Bowl coverage would make them less likely to call out or skip their shift. 

Encouragingly, over two-thirds of employees (67%) agree their manager does a good job recognizing how pop culture events, holidays, and other external factors can affect work. In fact, nearly two-thirds of managers (63%) say they plan to ask employees directly about their Super Bowl time-off plans — compared to 56% in 2025. 

Still, not everyone has made up their mind about what to do on Super Bowl Monday: 8.2 million employees⁸ say they will make a last-minute decision about what to do about work on Monday. 

"That’s a lot of people waiting on the sidelines over their plans for Super Bowl Monday. There’s still time to drive active conversations with employees to ensure the business is covered,” said Develin. 

Holiday or Not, Work Still Must get Done for Frontline-heavy Organizations
In a continuing upward trend, 48% of employees (up from 43% in 2025) agree Super Bowl Monday should be a national holiday—a wish they’ll get to test next year when Super Bowl LXI falls on Valentine’s Day and over Presidents’ Day weekend. This double-holiday weekend may actually pose more labor planning challenges.