Calling in sick to get a day off work is nothing new – but the excuses workers come up with seem to be getting increasingly bizarre!
Careerbuilder’s nationwide US survey on absenteeism reveals that 29 percent of workers have played hooky from the office at least once this year. 27 percent of employers think they are seeing an increase in bogus sick excuses from employees due to continued stress and burnout caused by the weak economy. The survey included more than 3,100 workers and more than 2,400 employers.
While the majority of employers said they believe their workers when they say they’re feeling under the weather, 29 percent reported they have checked up on an employee who called in sick and 16 percent said they have fired a worker for missing work without a proven excuse. Of the employers who checked up on an employee, 70 percent said they wanted to see a doctor’s note. While half called the employee at home, 18 percent had another worker call the employee and 15 percent drove to the employee’s house or apartment.
"Six-in-ten employers we surveyed said they let their team members use sick days for mental health days," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. "If you need to take some time away from the office, the best way not to cause yourself more stress is to be open and honest with your manager."
“Just not feeling like going to work” is the number one reason why workers said they call off sick with made-up excuses followed by “just needing to relax” and “catching up on sleep.” Other reasons included doctor’s appointments, needing to run personal errands, and plans with family and friends.
When asked to share the most unusual excuses employees gave for missing work, employers offered the following real-life examples:
1) A chicken attacked my mother.
2) My fingers are stuck in a bowling ball.
3) I had a hair transplant that has gone bad.
4) I fell asleep as my desk while working and hit my head, causing a neck injury.
5) A a cow broke into my house and I had to wait for the insurance man.
6) My girlfriend threw a Sit n Spin through my living room window.
7) My foot was caught in the garbage disposal.
8) Employee called in sick from a bar at 5pm the night before.
9) I'm not feeling too clever today.
10) I had to mow the lawn to avoid a lawsuit from the Home Owner’s Association.
11) I burned my mouth on a pumpkin pie (called in the day after Thanksgiving) .
12) I was in a boat on Lake Erie and ran out of gas - and the Coast Guard towed me to the Canadian side.
