To Work or Not to Work on Superbowl Monday?

Should Superbowl Monday be a Holiday or Not?

For many Americans it’s become the one football game almost everyone watches, even the people who never watch all season long. Altogether some 112 million people in the U.S. alone are expected to be up late Sunday night carrying on pre, during and post Superbowl. Of course they are going to have a hard time showing up and being productive on Monday. And for reasons that are mildly mystifying, there is a global obsession sweeping the planet that means Americans won’t be the only ones who will show up for work with sleep in their eyes. And some of these fans maybe even more tired than we will be…. Just imagine that there are over 30 million fans in China who will be just starting to watch the game live at 8:30am Monday morning when they should be on their way to work. Meanwhile European countries are tuning in after midnight and pulling all-nighters in order to watch the game. What is an employer to do?

Here in the states it is estimated that 1.5 million will call in sick the day after and another 4.5 million will come in late so the choices are pretty straightforward; you either work with them or against them (with kindness and antacids of course). Those businesses that can, may consider giving employees a later start time so the extra tired can grab some extra sleep. Maybe a free breakfast will ensure everyone is off to the healthiest start possible and will encourage them to come in on time. If you are a business that can’t offer flexibility than perhaps a black out day is the fairest way to handle absenteeism so everyone knows they have to be there with their smiles on; a free lunch or some other incentive might be appreciated. Of course the old-fashioned way works just as well; be prepared and ask people to take the day off in advance so you can get important roles covered without having to react at the last minute.

So will you be open, closed, or somewhere in between? In the spirit of employee engagement and job satisfaction the Superbowl certainly creates an opportunity to show your employees that you care so  have an awesome Superbowl weekend whatever you decide.