The Anti Pimp

From my homies at Careerbuilder.

Here are 2009’s Most Unusual Excuses for Missing Work:

1. I got sunburned at a nude beach and can’t wear clothes.
   
2. I woke up in Canada.
3. I got caught selling an alligator.
4. My buddies locked me in the trunk of an abandoned car after a weekend of drinking.
5. My mom said I was not allowed to go to work today.
6. A bee flew in my mouth.
7. I’m just not into it today.
8. I have a headache from eating hot peppers.
9. A random person threw poison ivy in my face and now I have a rash.
10. I’m convinced my spouse is having an affair and I’m staying home to catch them.
11. I was injured chasing a seagull.
    

“Longer hours and heavier workloads are common in the current economic climate and employers are becoming more flexible with their time off policies,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “Sixty-three percent of companies we surveyed said they let their team members use sick days for mental health days.  If you need time to recharge, your best bet is to be honest with your manager.”

Manager (Over)Reactions?

Managers, however, don’t always give employees the benefit of the doubt, which doesn’t exactly cultivate a culture of honesty and trust. But would you do the same?

• 29 percent of employers have checked up on an employee who called in sick
• Of those employers: 70 percent required a doctor’s note, 52 percent called the employee at home, 18 percent had another worker call the employee, and 17 percent drove by the employee’s place of residence
• 15 percent have fired a worker for missing work without a legitimate excuse
  

So… what are the real reasons workers missed work? (Hint: they have nothing to do with alligators or angry poison ivy-throwing):

• 31 percent needed to get to a doctor’s appointment
• 28 percent needed to relax
• 16 percent wanted to catch up on sleep
• 13 percent wanted to run personal errands
• 12 percent said it was work-related (they wanted to miss a meeting, give themselves some more time to work on a project or avoid the wrath of a boss, colleague or client)
• 10 percent wanted to catch up on housework, and another 10 percent wanted to spend time with family and friends
• But the biggest reason for missing work? About a third of workers (32 percent) just didn’t feel like going to work that day.