OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 31, 2025) — Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE: PAYC) (“Paycom”), a leading provider of comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management software, released workplace data about job attendance on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
There were 63% more sick-day requests nationally on the Monday after the Super Bowl than the average day in 2024. Despite the influx of requests, managers approved 91% of sick days on Feb. 12 — the second-highest percentage of approved sick days in 2024. Following this trend, businesses can likely anticipate a surge of sick requests on Feb. 10, 2025, and should plan accordingly for business continuity.
Unexpected staffing shortages can lead to operation disruptions, lost revenue, compromised quality, inability to meet customer demands, increased risk, strained resources, decreased productivity and more. Proactivity is the key to mitigating the impact of understaffing, such as using HR tech to ensure scheduling and confirm coverage thresholds are met as well as reiterating coverage expectations to employees.
“While employee sick days are unavoidable, good HR tech with time-off decisioning already built in ensures business continuity,” said Jason Bodin, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Paycom. “By leveraging Paycom’s automated time-off request feature, managers can proactively adjust coverage thresholds on any day of the year, giving them a buffer to absorb unexpected absences and ensure seamless business operations.”
According to Paycom data:
- The Monday after the Super Bowl had the 12th-highest amount of sick-day requests in 2024. The 10 “sickest” days took place in December and January.
- There were 51% more sick-day requests on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, than the average day in February.
- Other popular sick-day requests in 2024 included Dec. 27 (the Friday following Christmas) with 97% more requests than the average day in 2024 and Dec. 30 (the Monday before New Year’s Eve) with 86% more requests than the average day in 2024.
Using Paycom’s automated time-off request feature GONE®, employers can preset time-off criteria and coverage thresholds to mitigate time-off disputes and ensure there’s enough staffing on popular “sick” days. It also improves real-time visibility into time-off requests, making it easier for managers to identify staffing gaps and make informed decisions.
Learn more about Paycom’s time-off request decisioning automations here.
Methodology:
The results represent the sick days and time-off requests made in 2024 by 6.8 million employees across Paycom’s clients. The analyzed group includes both full- and part-time employees of organizations operating in the United States. Sick day requests include any amount of sick time requested by an employee on a given day.
