WASHINGTON 鈥� Let鈥檚 be honest: Everyone has called in sick to work when he wasn鈥檛 really ill.
(Editor鈥檚 note: Duly noted.)
Let鈥檚 try that again: Almost everyone has called in sick to work when he wasn鈥檛 really ill. At least that’s what some聽people say.
And that requires a little creativity, as workers have to come up with a plausible story. But some workers may take it a bit too far.
A CareerBuilder survey of workers and managers has harvested some of the most absurd stories workers have concocted. Managers report having heard some real gems, although to be honest some might fall in the 鈥渢oo weird to be made up鈥� category:
- One worker said his grandmother had poisoned him with ham.
- Another claimed to have broken his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.
- One claimed to have poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.
- A worker said his wife had caught him cheating on her, and he had to spend the day getting his belongings out of a Dumpster.
- And a woman said she had to go to the beach because her doctor had ordered her to get more vitamin D.
Twenty-seven percent of workers surveyed reported that, when they took a fake sick day, it was for a doctor鈥檚 appointment; another 27 percent said they just didn鈥檛 feel like going. Twenty-one percent claimed they needed to catch up on sleep and 12 percent blamed bad weather.
The survey found that 52 percent of workers have a program that allows them to use their time off however they like, but of those, 27 percent still feel they need to make up a reason for not coming in.
Breaking it down by age, 32 percent of those between 18 and 34 felt they needed to make an excuse, while only 20 percent of those 55 and older felt the need.
Conversely, 54 percent of the workers surveyed say they鈥檝e gone in to work even when they really were sick because they thought the work wouldn鈥檛 get done. And nearly as many 鈥� 48 percent 鈥� say they can鈥檛 afford to miss a day鈥檚 pay.
One in three employers has checked to see whether an employee who called in sick was really ill; 22 percent of employers have fired a worker for calling in sick with a fake story 鈥� up from last year鈥檚 18 percent.
And whatever you do, keep it offline: 33 percent of employers say they鈥檝e checked workers鈥� social media accounts in order to catch them taking fake sick days, and of those, 26 percent have fired the workers.
So if you鈥檙e going to make something up, make it good: One worker said the universe was telling him to take a day off. As true as that can sometimes be, it probably won鈥檛 cut it with most bosses.
