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Tis the season for calling in sick

‘Tis the season alright… for calling in sick. Along with the holidays, the cold and flu seasons are upon us. You know what that means – workers are sick.

Or are they?

Thirty-two percent of workers said they have called in sick when they were well at least once in the last year, according to CareerBuilder.com‘s annual survey on absenteeism. Most (75 percent) employers said they believed employee’s excuses, but 35 percent have checked up on an employee who called in sick.

Of those 35 percent, 67 percent said the employee had to show a doctor‘s note, 59 percent called the employee at home, 16 percent had another worker call the employee and 14 percent went so far as to drive past the employee’s home.

Have you ever called in sick to work when you were feeling fine and just didn’t feel like going to work? Or you just wanted to relax, catch up on sleep or make plans with family and friends? Don’t feel bad – plenty of us feel that way.

Next time you call in sick, don’t try these excuses at home. But for a good laugh, check out the most unusual excuses employees gave for missing work, according to employers from the survey:

  • Employee said he was crabby and it wouldn’t be good for business
  • Employee got whiplash from brushing her hair
  • Employee said her psychic told her to stay home or something awful would happen to her
  • Employee said he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest up for the company’s holiday party that night
  • Employee said her chickens’ feet were frozen to the driveway
  • At her sister’s wedding, the employee chipped her tooth on a Mint Julep, bent over to spit it out, hit her head on a keg and was knocked unconscious with a mild concussion
  • Employee claimed to have met a movie star and was spending the day with him
  • Employee was injured while getting a haircut
  • Employee tasted dog food because the dog was not feeling well and now the employee is sick
  • Employee’s roommate locked all his clothes in a shed for spite
  • A groundhog bit the employee’s car tire, causing it to go flat
  • Employee had been up all night because their favorite “American Idol” contestant was voted off
1 comments
  Livefyre
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Career Change
Career Change

Very good, but the survey didn't mention:

Employee locked his/her keys out of his/her car

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