Top 10 most ridiculous excuses to get off work
Sometimes we need to catch up on some much-needed sleep – or perhaps there’s a TV series on the list to binge watch – whatever the reason, there are times we’re tempted to just call in sick.
A new survey by US online job marketplace, Career Builder, finds that over 38% of employees there have called in sick over the past year, despite not being sick at all. This is a marked increase from 28% in 2014.
Some employees are even compelled to come up with creative excuses to get out of work for a day.
Career Builder highlighted the most common excuses over the past year:
- 27% said they had a doctor’s appointment;
- 27% said they just didn’t feel like going;
- 26% said they needed to relax;
- 21% said they needed to catch up on sleep; and
- 12% blamed bad weather.
Despite a majority of respondents indicating they’re entitled to paid time off, they still said they felt obligated to make an excuse.
“While most employers claim to trust their employees, one in three employers (33%) have checked to see if an employee was telling the truth after calling in sick this year, compared to 31% last year,” the group said.
Of these employers, asking to see a doctor’s note was the most popular way to find out of the absence was based in truth (67%), followed by calling the employee (49%) and checking the employee’s social media posts (32%).
Career Builder asked employers what crazy excuses they were given by employees over the past year – and these are the top 10:
1. Employee claimed his grandmother poisoned him with ham.
2. Employee was stuck under the bed.
3. Employee broke his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.
4. Employee said the universe was telling him to take a day off.
5. Employee’s wife found out he was cheating. He had to spend the day retrieving his belongings from the dumpster.
6. Employee poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.
7. Employee said his wife put all his underwear in the washer.
8. Employee said the meal he cooked for a department potluck didn’t turn out well.
9. Employee was going to the beach because the doctor said he needed more vitamin D.
10. Employee said her cat was stuck inside the dashboard of her car.
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