California Makes Top 7 States for Falsely Calling Out Sick from Work to Watch Sport Game
Though it may not be people’s proudest moment, calling out sick to attend an event is something many people have done. But which state is most likely to call out sick in the name of sports?
To find out, Betway has surveyed more than 2,000 Americans to find out which sports events they have called out sick for, which states are guilty of this the most, and which life events they are willing to miss to watch an important game.
The table below shows the states that call out sick the most for sports:
Key findings include:
- Utah is the state that skips work to watch sports the most, with 78% of people here admitting they’ve done this.
- In Kansas, half of respondents (50%) said they got into trouble at work — or got fired — for calling out sick to watch a sports game.
- Approximately 57% of U.S. employees admit to calling in sick to watch a sporting event, with the Super Bowl being the most popular event people skip work.
The survey revealed that over half (57%) of Americans have called in sick to watch sports. But which sports in particular are causing the most people to skip work?
Rank
- The Super Bowl
- A football game (excluding the Super Bowl)
- The NBA finals game
- A basketball game (excluding the finals)
- A baseball game (excluding the World Series Championship)
- The World Series Championship
- March Madness finals
- A hockey game (excluding the Stanley Cup Finals
As a nation of football lovers, it’s unsurprising it is the most popular sport leading to Americans calling out sick. In fact, at the top of the list is the Super Bowl, as almost half (48%) of all survey respondents admitted they had called out sick because of it.
It seems some states get into trouble for lying about illness more than others. In Kansas, half of respondents (50%) said they got into trouble at work — or got fired — for calling out sick to watch a sports game. Montana and Maryland are next, each with 43% of respondents facing the consequences.
When looking at all those across the country who have falsely called out sick, 21% of respondents said they didn’t get in any trouble, 19% said they did get into trouble, while 17% faced the biggest consequence, and got fired.
The life events Americans are most likely to miss due to a sports game:
- A family gathering
- A birthday party
- Thanksgiving celebrations
- Easter celebrations
- Christmas celebrations
- A vacation
- An anniversary
- The birth of their child
- A funeral
It’s not only work that sports fans are willing to skip to support their team. The highest percentage of respondents (23%) said they would be willing to miss a family gathering to watch a sports game, and a further 20% said they would miss a birthday party.
Holidays are no exception, as 19% said they wouldn’t take part in Thanksgiving celebrations to watch a game, and a further 18% said they would skip Easter and Christmas celebrations.
Soe 17% of respondents said they would miss a vacation, 16% admitted they would miss an anniversary, while 14% said they would actually miss the birth of their child for an important game.
In fact, over a quarter (26%) of respondents said they keep more up to date with their sports team than their friends, and 18% say that they care more about their favorite sports team than their own family (22% of men compared to 16% of women).
It’s not just events that are impacted by sports, but lifestyles and relationships too. Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) said they would ensure their wedding day didn’t coincide with an important game (28% of men compared to 21% of women). A fifth (20%) also said they would name their child after their favorite athlete or team (25% of men compared to 17% of women).
Some 17% of all respondents said they have, or would, break up with someone if they don’t support the same team (22% of men and 14% of women), meaning men are 53% more likely to break up with their partner over sports than women.
A survey of 2,014 Americans aged 21+ was conducted in March 2024. Some states were removed from analysis due to lack of data.
Image Sources
- super-bowl-4010675_1280: Pixabay
