'Super Bowl Flu,' surge of IT problems anticipated for following Monday
In what has become an annual tradition, the upcoming Super Bowl LVIII is once again expected to disrupt workplaces across the United States with a staggering 16.1 million employees predicted to miss work on the Monday following the game.
But not only will onsite workplaces take the heat this time, but so will workplaces that are implementing remote and hybrid workplaces, according to reports.
A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the UKG Workforce Institute found that about 22.5 million employees, or 14% of US employees, plan to miss at least some work on the Monday following the big game on February 11.
This includes about 6.4 million US employees who said they plan to report late on Monday, according to the report.
Among the 16.1 million planning to miss work, over six million employees are planning to fake illness or "ghost" work altogether. About 10 million, however, said they are already requested the day off.
The findings indicate that the so-called "Super Bowl Flu" phenomenon remains strong. According to the report, about 14.5 million US employees have called in sick to work on the Monday after the big game despite not being actually sick.
Building trust, communication for Super Bowl
Jarik Conrad, vice president of human insights at UKG and executive director of the UKG Workforce Institute, underscored the need for trust and open communications in order to be successful in handling situations such as the Super Bowl absences.
"Trust is the new currency at work, and it pays dividends. We all have lives outside of the workplace — yes, even managers. 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," Conrad said in a media release.
"Super Bowl Monday isn't a national holiday, but we can use cultural moments like this one to keep the lines of communication open and foster trust, as we work together to create a great place to work for all people."
IT chaos expected post-game
Meanwhile, physical workplaces won't be the only locations struggling on the Monday after Superbowl, according to reports.
A recent survey by Atera revealed that 75% of IT professionals are anticipating the post-game Monday to be the busiest day of the year for tech problems and emergencies, especially with 41% of hybrid workers opting for remote work on that day.
"Life in IT is always busy, but Big Game Monday will be the next level. With workers up and down the country deciding to work remotely, we're expecting a huge spike in IT issues," said Gil Pekelman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Atera, in a statement.
Atera's research also found that 50% of remote or hybrid employees will likely be using their personal devices instead of work-issued hardware when working remotely, which Pekelman said causes "painful headaches for IT teams" as it escalates the chances of security issues.
Half of IT managers surveyed are expecting software downtime to be their biggest issue on the Monday after Super Bowl. Others cited the following:
