Is there anyone on this planet that would rather go to work than stay at home and relax? If there is, I am not one of them, and I would venture to guess that not too many readers are either. I know I have given some pretty crazy excuses in order to miss work, but some of the reasons released in the new Career Builder survey simply blew me away. Not only that, but there are some interesting stats as to when people call in sick, and what the employer will do to determine the legitimacy of the excuse.
According to the survey, 33% of employers stated that the amount of workers who call in sick during the holiday seasons is the highest of the year. While some of this can be traced to the cold and flu season, the majority of people are calling in sick for other personal reasons. Listed below are some actual excuses employees used to call off work.
- My 12-year-old daughter stole my car and I had no other way to work. Employee didn’t want to report it to the police.
- A lady said bats got in her hair.
- A man said a refrigerator fell on him.
- A woman was in line at a coffee shop when a truck carrying flour backed up and dumped the flour into her convertible.
- A gentleman said a deer bit him during hunting season.
- I ate too much at a party.
- I fell out of bed and broke his nose.
- I got a cold from a puppy.
- My child stuck a mint up my nose and had to go to the ER to remove it.
- A man hurt his back chasing a beaver.
- A man got his toe caught in a vent cover.
- I had a headache after going to too many garage sales.
- My brother-in-law was kidnapped by a drug cartel while in Mexico.
- I drank anti-freeze by mistake and had to go to the hospital.
- A woman said she was at a bowling alley and a bucket filled with water crashed through the ceiling and hit her on the head.
There is so much more interesting stuff in the report, that you really should read it yourself. Another interesting fact is that 11% of individuals actually text in sick! The entire report can be found Here.
Citations for this post:
- Press Room, Employers Share List of Most Unusual Excuses for Calling in Sick, According to CareerBuilder’s Annual Survey, Career Builder, 10/20/2011
