Call Off Sick Lest It ‘Ruin a Good Mood'
CHICAGO -- From claiming they need the day to fix some botched plastic surgery to saying they accidentally got on a plane, workers in the United States have either had some sitcom-worthy misadventures this year, or they've simply gotten more creative with their sick-day excuses, CareerBuilder reports.
On the plus side, over the past year, 28% of employees have called in to work sick when they were feeling well, down from 32% last year, finds a new survey.
When asked for a reason for calling in sick when they aren’t, 30% of respondents to the CareerBuilder survey said they just didn't feel like going in to work and 29% said they wanted the day to relax. Another 21% took the day off to keep a doctor's appointment and 19% wanted to catch up on sleep. Meanwhile, bad weather was enough for 11% of employees.
While 49% of employees say they have a paid time off program that allows them to use such time as they choose, 23% of those workers say they still feel obligated to make up an excuse to take a day off.
Employer respondents were asked to share the most dubious excuses employees their employees gave who call in sick.
Among the best:
- Just put a casserole in the oven.
- Plastic surgery for cosmetic purposes needed some "tweaking" to get it just right.
- While sitting on the john, her feet and legs fell asleep. When she stood up, she fell and broke her ankle.
- Had been at the casino all weekend and still had money left to play on Monday morning.
- Woke up in a good mood and didn't want to ruin it.
- Got stuck in the blood pressure machine at the grocery store and couldn't get out.
- A gall stone he wanted to heal holistically.
- Uniform caught fire caught when he put it in the microwave to dry.
- Got on an airplane by accident.
Alhough the majority of employers give their employees the benefit of the doubt, 31% say they have checked to see if an employee was telling the truth in one way or another. Among employers who have checked an employee who called in sick, asking to see a doctor's note was the most popular way to find out if the absence was legit (66%), followed by calling the employee at home (49%). As many as 15% of employers went the extra mile – literally – by driving past the employee's house.
And, 18% say they have fired an employee for calling in sick with a fake excuse.
Some workers have inadvertently busted themselves online; 24% of employers have caught an employee lying about being sick by checking social media. Of those, 22% fired the employee, but 54% were more forgiving, only reprimanding the employee.
Not every employee is playing hooky, however. A majority of workers feel they do not have the luxury to take a sick day. More than half of employees (53%) say they have gone into work sick because they felt the work wouldn't get done otherwise, and 38% did the same because they can't afford to miss a day of pay.
Employee absentee rates peak with flu season. December is the most popular time of year for employees to call in sick, according to 21% of employers, followed by January (17%) and February (14%).
Despite higher rates of absenteeism during the holiday season, only 8% of employees say they have ever faked being sick during this time. Of those who have, most did it to spend time with family and friends (69%), while others wanted to holiday shop or decorate for the season.
Employees in professional and business services called in sick most often (35%) in the past year, followed closely by sales employees (34%). On the flip side, employees in the IT, retail and leisure and hospitality industries were least likely to call in sick this past year (22%, 21% and 20%, respectively).
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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