As World Cup fever sweeps the US, workers have been taking more sick days.

Attendance at US offices fell 26 per cent on July 7th, the day after the country’s loss against Belgium, according to an analysis by workplace management and security platform Envoy. That drop was roughly 10 times larger than the day after the Super Bowl.

Envoy dubbed it “Knockout Tuesday.”

Office turnout also was lower on the day of the match itself, with attendance down 8.5 per cent compared with the three-month Monday average, Envoy found.

Workers gradually returned to the office throughout the week as subsequent matches between France and Morocco and Spain and Belgium proved less distracting for American workers.

The findings add to growing concerns that the world’s largest sporting event has been undermining productivity ahead of Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain. In all, the tournament may have cost the US economy $11.7 billion (€10.2 billion) in lost productivity, according to human resources software provider UKG. It found that more than a quarter of US workers planned to come to work late, leave early or stay home altogether to watch the World Cup’s 104 matches.

“We just have seen a huge number of people calling out,” said Sidney LeBlanc, a data analyst for Envoy. Even though many matches were scheduled during US business hours, attendance tended to dip the following day as people stayed out late to celebrate or mourn the result, LeBlanc added.

Employers have long been aware that cultural events distract workers. Office attendance dipped during previous Olympic Games and the week after the highly anticipated release of 2023 films Barbie and Oppenheimer, according to Envoy’s data.

Some companies tried to get ahead of the World Cup’s consequences on their working rhythms. Employers in host cities including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and S&P Global Inc. have encouraged staff to work remotely on match days to avoid expected traffic headaches and commuting delays. - Bloomberg