Over 17 million people may call in sick the day after Super Bowl, costing U.S. $4 billion

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An estimated 17 million people will be calling in sick Monday, the day after the big Super Bowl game, according to a report.

The Workforce Institute at Kronos, Inc. said it will be a record number since the company began keeping track in 2005. Three million employees are expected to come into work late, while six million will leave work early.

The cost of productivity loss could be more than $4 billion. That includes sick days and time spent discussing the game, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement and executive coaching firm.

The company surveyed 1,107 adults in the U.S., and estimated around 17.2 million could skip work Monday, which is the highest number in the five or six times they have conducted the survey, according to The Washington Post.

More than 8 million workers are projected to take a pre-approved day off, but an additional 4.7 million are expected to take a sick day, even if they are not ill, according to USA Today.

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