Excuses for Missing Work Getting Wackier

Abridged: Koco.com
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Have you ever called in sick when you're feeling fine? If so, you're in good company. A new survey by CareerBuilder finds 32% of workers have done just that in the last year. Many people are using sick days as "mental health days" to catch up on sleep or simply relax.

The amount of unexcused absences from the office is significant and can be indicative of employee dissatisfaction. So it's important to keep in mind that using sick days as vacation days can get you in trouble. Twenty-seven percent of hiring managers reported they have fired a worker for calling in sick without a legitimate reason. Employers have heard plenty of unusual excuses for not coming to work. Some excuses include:
• Poisoned by his mother-in-law.
• Feeling all the symptoms of his expecting wife.
• Employee was locked in a restroom stall.
• Employee broke their leg snowboarding.
• Employee's couldn't come into work because of house hold chores.
• Employee's mother was in jail.
• A skunk got into the employee's house and sprayed his uniforms.

This article appeared in the December 4, 2006 issue of The Career News, an e-newsletter. It is reprinted here with permission from The Career News.

For more yucks about taking time off from work, read Putting the ‘Work’ into Work/Life Balance.