Super Bowl-itis to be Felt Monday

Super Bowl flu is quite contagious and quite common, says one employment productivity expert who has studied absenteeism in the workplace.

“We think there’s going to be a widespread impact across the country of Super Bowl-itis — and epidemic proportions in Chicago and Indianapolis,” said Stewart Itkin, vice president of Kronos, a Massachusetts company that solves workforce-related problems.

“The symptoms include exhaustion, headache and sore throat due to loss of voice,” Itkin said. “Fortunately, it only lasts 24 hours.”

Kronos recently surveyed approximately 1,300 adults over the age 18 and asked if they would be coming to work the morning after the game, Feb. 5. Five percent of the respondents admitted that they planned to call in sick. With the U.S. working population numbering about 140 million people, Itkin estimates that “come Monday, there will be 7 million empty cubicles around the country, costing employers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity.”

The disorder seems to be growing, too. A previous Kronos survey of workers suggested 1.4 million people would call in sick the day after the 2005 Super Bowl.

Even worse, Itkin said, all those no-show numbers don’t include “people who decide to go to work with Super Bowl-itis, with symptoms that can be productivity-robbing.”