Confirmed: Basically No One in Philly Will Be at Work on Thursday

Photo by Jeff Fusco.

It looks like an Eagles work holiday will come to fruition after all. Last week we told Philadelphians to not bother with work on Monday February 5, and now, it looks like employers are catching on. With the Eagles victory parade on Thursday, more than 2 million people are expected to descend on Center City as early as 11 a.m. And with the region’s transportation changes and the lively (read: loud) festivities expected to take place — we had to find out exactly what employers have in mind. We asked: Who will be working? Who will be off? Some Center City companies are getting creative. Here’s what they’ll be up to:

Aramark

All of us at Aramark are still feeling the thrill of victory that our hometown Eagles (partner/client) delivered over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. To recognize the Eagles’ historic first Super Bowl title, we declared tomorrow a company holiday so that our employees can enjoy the parade in person or at home with friends and family. Today we are having an Eagles spirit day and everyone is wearing their Eagles gear. It’s an unforgettable time for the passionate fans of Philadelphia! -Karen Cutler

Ballard Spahr

Our Philadelphia office is closed on Thursday, so no fun office celebrations. But we did have a few office “tailgates” leading up to the Super Bowl. One was before the NFC championship game (which also served as a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club – we raised over $10,000!) and one was Friday (which was a fundraiser for a nonprofit called New Leash on Life – we raised almost $2,000). –Joan Heider

Benjamin’s Desk

In short, of course our 1776PHL employees have been given the day off to celebrate the city and the Eagles’ greatness. Our mantra for 1776 is “Where Revolutions Begin,” and this moment for the city will certainly amplify many of the other great things about why we love Philly! We are encouraging our employees and member companies in Philly to partake in the celebration, as we believe that aspiration will infect everyone’s mindset! –Anthony Maher

Blank Rome LLP

In an email sent out earlier this week, Blank Rome chairman and managing partner Alan J. Hoffman said:

I hope you all had a great weekend watching our Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl! It is an exciting time for our city. We are keeping an eye on the ever-evolving plans for the parade on Thursday. While it certainly feels like the center of the universe will be focused on Philadelphia that day, it is still a regular business day. In order to provide uninterrupted service to our clients, we expect our attorneys and exempt staff to either report to the office, work remotely from home or at another office, or use vacation/PTO time. Non-exempt staff do not need to report to the office and will not be charged PTO for the day. Stay safe and enjoy the day celebrating this historic win. Go Birds!

Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber will have off on Thursday due to our proximity to Broad Street (our offices are located in the Bellevue on Broad and Walnut). Employees have the option of coming in to watch the parade from the office with I.D. We have also had numerous office activities in light of the Super Bowl, including a dress down day last Friday.

Cozen O’ Connor

We’re offering employees who come in a three-hour lunch so they can possibly see the parade. Any person who comes in will have an extra PTO day added on, and anyone who doesn’t come in will not get a PTO day taken off. Everyone had a casual dress day last week in order to wear Eagles gear. At our office tailgate last week, there was no booze, but we had food, Eagles themed cupcakes and our founder chanting the Eagles chant.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bes_7XEgaPw/?taken-by=cozenoconnor

Comcast

Comcast’s Center City campus will be closed on Thursday so that our employees can join in on the Eagles celebration. Everyone has been so excited this week. We handed out Super Bowl championship victory posters to employees at our café. Last Friday, so many people came in dressed in Eagles uniforms and spirit gear. It’s been a lot of fun. –John Demming

Curalate

We did our celebrating early with a Philly themed happy hour last Friday, featuring Philadelphia Brewing Company and Yards beers, cheesesteaks, Tastykakes, and soft pretzels. On Monday, the Eagles fight song and highlights from the game replaced the usual Sonos playlists playing throughout the office.

Given the difficulty of getting in and out of Center City, we’ve told folks they can either work from home or request the day off. I suspect those requests will be approved. –Luke Butler

Diversified Search

Our policy is that our office will be open. We have about a third of the office that lives within a few blocks of the building. For others, particularly those who live in the suburbs and New Jersey, we are encouraging them to work from home. Everyone has been very conscientious about scheduling conference calls and arranging for work that can be done remotely. We also offered anyone who wished to take a vacation day to go to the parade to do so, and several employees have taken that option. We had a small pre-Super Bowl lunch party on Friday, so that is about it for our festive celebrations in-house. –Michael Callahan

Duane Morris

While our Philadelphia office will be officially open to service our clients and other offices, due to the expected large crowds, the transportation challenges, as well as school closures on Thursday, the firm will treat Thursday as we treat a “Snow Closing” day. Staff members who can safely make it to the office are encouraged to sport their Eagles colors to celebrate the Super Bowl victory. –Michael Bond

FreedomPay

For the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade, FreedomPay is offering its employees several options. They can work from home, take a PTO day or even donate $10 to their favorite charity to get the day off. FreedomPay has even pledged to match the donation to the charity that FreedomPay employees raise the most money for, up to $1000. -Christy Pittman

Independence Blue Cross

The entire Independence Health Group organization, including Independence Blue Cross, shares in the region’s pride and excitement over the Philadelphia Eagles’ historic win on Sunday. Because of the potential impact on traffic and public transportation for associates, the company will adjust the operating schedules of some offices in the Philadelphia region on the day of the Eagles Championship Parade on Thursday, February 8.

Specifically, the following changes will be implemented on February 8:

• Our company headquarters in Center City Philadelphia (1901 Market St.) will be closed, as will our offices in Mt. Laurel, N.J., and Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
• Independence LIVE, the customer experience center at 1919 Market St. in Philadelphia, will be closed.
• AmeriHealth Administrators (1900 Market St.) will be closed, except for GeoBlue Customer Service.
• Independence Blue Cross has enthusiastically supported Eagles’ fans during the team’s championship run. This includes the sponsorship of “underdog” masks in the Philadelphia Inquirer before the Big Game and partnering with SEPTA to offer free subway rides during the parade. -Grant Gegwich

JLL

People can always work from home in our business! We are having an in-office party with our clients, friends and families! -Lauren Gilchrist

MilkCrate

MilkCrate HQ is a block from Broad Street so we are all working from home and then if anyone on the team wants to attend the parade they can. We are super excited about our city hitting this awesome milestone and will be celebrating mostly from the comfort of our laptops and PJs. Throughout the day we will also periodically remind Amazon via social media channels that we are the best city ever. #TechLife #GoBirds #PHL –Morgan Berman

MSC Retail

Since 1989, MSC Retail has been defining Philadelphia’s cityscape, retailers and restaurants. With our headquarters in the heart of Center City overlooking Rittenhouse Square, we are always proud to welcome national businesses and first timers to Philadelphia to show off this amazing city. Our heart, our souls and our livelihoods are ingrained in the City of Philadelphia and we are incredibly proud to support the Philadelphia Eagles.

That said, we have been celebrating the Eagles’ victories with every win and we were thrilled to cheer them on in the Super Bowl. In honor of celebrating the big Super Bowl victory, it is not mandatory for MSC Retail employees to come to work tomorrow. However, we are not officially closing the office. My best guess is that employees who live in Center City and can conveniently walk to the office will trickle in and out throughout the day, particularly after the parade is over. I plan to attend the parade and remain accessible by mobile and email while working from home for the remainder of the day. –Carly Fitzpatrick

Nasdaq

Nasdaq executes day and night in support of the nation’s equities, options, and 24-hour futures markets. We pride ourselves on our resiliency, as well as our remote technology for those who may wish to work from home. All that said, our team will mostly be in early, stay late, and enjoy the community spirit that will be prevalent throughout the city tomorrow. Earlier this week, Nasdaq employees received an advisory with details on how to avoid congestion and minimize inconvenience, while enjoying and celebrating the “Birds” first Lombardi Trophy! -Christine Barna

PECO

As a utility that serves our communities, we are a 24/7 operation. We will have employees working a “business as usual” schedule, however, we have internally communicated alternate plans if you work in the Center City area, and are allowing folks to work from home if their travel plans don’t permit them to travel into Center City. Safety is always our number one priority, so this will be on a case by case basis. Employees are welcome to attend the parade, but will request a vacation day as they typically would. PECO hosted celebrations in our office buildings across the organization last Friday, and also had creative pre-Super Bowl messaging displayed on our Crown Lights to share our excitement and support across the city.

PHLCVB

Our office is officially closed, however, some of our team will be working tomorrow either covering the event for our social media channels, capturing content that we can use in the future as we position and sell Philadelphia as a great sporting events destination, or working from home to support our customers with immediate needs. The rest of the team has been given the day off to celebrate our Super Bowl champions! –Althea A. Calbeck

Radian

We are open because we are a national company. We’re asking employees to exercise their best judgment according to traffic and transportation. We encourage them to take PTO. Property management will have extra security, and we won’t have any visitors. If employees do come in, they are encouraged to wear Eagles attire or green. We had a jersey day last Friday.

Saxbys

As we did with the Pope visit, not only is this “business as usual” for us, we are approaching Thursday as a way to help impress the millions of visitors with how hospitable Philadelphia is. This is a great opportunity for all retail operators in the city to show how vibrant our food, beverage and hospitality scene is.

We’re staffing up our cafes and preparing for brisk business. For our team members – HQ or through our cafes – who say the parade is of the utmost importance, our less die-hard fans are picking up shifts and holding down the fort for them. It’s pretty awesome to watch how our teams are working together to ensure we’re ready for the deluge of business, but also allowing our most die hard to get out to the parade and celebrate.

Science Center

The Science Center is closing for the day Thursday as significant logistical and transportation challenges will make it difficult for people to get to and from the office. As you can imagine, response from our colleagues was overwhelmingly positive – especially from those who will join the rest of Philadelphia in celebrating the Eagles at their victory parade! –Kristen Fitch

Stradley Ronon

Stradley Ronon’s Philadelphia office will remain open all day Thursday, but the firm is providing flexibility to staff and attorneys (such as an extra PTO day or the ability to work from home) given the office’s proximity to the Eagles parade route and the parade’s effect on transportation.

You might also have interest in details about Stradley Ronon’s pep rally held last week. The firm had a big Eagles tailgate party on Friday, Feb. 2 from noon to 2 p.m. for all attorneys and employees. The festivities included:

• All partners and employees welcomed/encouraged to wear their full regalia of Eagles gear on Friday
• Decorated Town Hall, including setting up a football field (with goal posts) on ends of each table
• Lunch for all containing a typical “tailgate-type” menu (minus the beer)
• Tailgate-type games throughout the conference center
• Giveaways, including Stradley-logo mini footballs for all
• Stradley’s “Quarterback” – Bill Sasso – in a life-size rendering donning an Eagles uniform with a “cut out” where everyone can try their skill in “throwing a pass to Bill”
• Eagles and Football trivia on each of the monitors in town hall and the conference center, including rounds of the Eagles fight sound interspersed
• A Super Bowl trivia game where anyone can enter by guessing at events that will unfold during the actual game
• Madden Football in the Café
• Spontaneous chants of “Fly Eagles Fly” led by a yet-to-be-determined “volunteer” -Ralph Richardson

Visit Philadelphia

Visit Philadelphia made the call on Tuesday to close the office Thursday to let staff enjoy the parade. About 15 of our staff will be working, producing content for Visit Philly social media channels and visitphilly.com, getting photography and video and working with media.We’ve shared the city’s information and encouraged everyone to sign up for the ReadyEagles texts.

As for celebrating, it started by having the mayor and the Eagles pep band at our New Year’s industry breakfast on Jan. 24. We had a billboard with, “From Wentz We Came. In Foles We Trust” before the game, and “This City. This Team. This Feeling. Super.” was up by 8 a.m. on Monday. And staff is festooned with rally cards, green food and other fun paraphernalia. Thanks to our partners who sent them over. -Cara Schneider

WebLinc

WebLinc staff is encouraged to attend the Eagles Super Bowl parade, though it’s not a day off. Some will be “pre-parading” at our Philadelphia headquarters on N3RD Street or working from home Thursday morning before joining 2 million+ fellow Birds fans along the parade route. The Eagles don’t have to win the Super Bowl for staff to be able to work remotely. -Kylie Hill