2026 World – With the 2026 FIFA World Cup beginning Thursday, June 11, UKG estimates the tournament could cost companies $17 billion globally in lost employee productivity—$11.7 billion in the U.S. alone—while millions of workers plan schedule changes, sick days, and even
The 2026 World Cup is supposed to be pure celebration—Thursday. June 11 is the opening day. fans will fill stadiums and screens. and the tournament runs through July 19. For employers. though. the start of the competition also marks the start of a very different kind of accounting: the cost of people stepping away from their jobs.
A new survey from UKG. a workforce management software company. estimates the tournament could cost companies $17 billion globally in lost employee productivity. including $11.7 billion in the U.S. The math is tied to scale—UKG estimates about 5 billion people worldwide. averaging over 128 million viewers a day. are likely to watch the games on screen or in the stadium.
Inside that figure is the friction employees say they’re already preparing for. UKG’s study of 8. 000 employees across the U.S. U.K. Canada. Mexico. along with France. Germany. the Netherlands. and Australia finds that 37% of employees plan to change their schedules over the next five and a half weeks to watch the tournament. including via “sick days” to attend watch parties.
The survey lays out how those changes may show up at work:
27% of employees say they’ll probably miss work—coming in late, leaving early, or skipping work altogether.
22% expect to show up to their jobs tired or exhausted.
11% admit they’ll clock in hungover.
14% plan to secretly stream matches while on the clock.
And even when the absences don’t become explicit, some workers say the experience could reshape their employment decisions. Nearly 20% admit they would consider looking for a new job if work gets in the way of their World Cup experience.
UKG chief product officer Suresh Vittal framed the tournament as a stress test for workplace planning. “What makes the World Cup so relevant is that it reflects a challenge that organizations face every day: work changes by the hour in frontline-heavy organizations. and static planning creates an execution gap. ” Vittal said in a news release. “The World Cup is more than a global cultural event people want to be part of. It is a real workforce planning test that can strain performance. productivity. communication. and even retention if it is not proactively managed.”.
The scope of the tournament only adds to the pressure on scheduling. The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams playing over 100 matches. Hosted for the first time by three countries in North America—Canada and Mexico. along with the U.S.—it will be played across 16 host cities. including 11 in the U.S.: Atlanta. Boston. Dallas. Houston. Kansas City. Los Angeles. Miami. New York/New Jersey. Philadelphia. San Francisco Bay Area. and Seattle. The final match is scheduled to take place outside New York City at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19.
For employers, the question isn’t whether fans will watch the games. It’s whether workplaces can absorb the strain without performance slipping, communication breaking down, and valuable staff feeling shut out of the moment they’re already planning around.
2026 World Cup FIFA UKG workforce planning employee productivity sick days employee retention U.S. productivity loss frontline scheduling MetLife Stadium
So basically it’s like the World Cup is gonna bankrupt companies because people don’t wanna work? Seems kinda obvious lol.
Hungover at work?? I mean I guess people gonna be tired anyway but “secretly stream while on the clock” sounds like every office already…
If they’re losing 11.7 billion in the US, why is FIFA not paying for it or something? Like where’s the money? Also does UKG mean the app thing? idk.
I read “cost companies $17 billion” and instantly thought that means tickets cost 17 billion or the teams are making 17 billion or something, my bad. But still 37% changing schedules seems low?? If my coworkers were real they’d be missing work too. Also “5.5 weeks” like… that’s basically the whole summer. Wonder if they’ll even track sick days or just guess.