Benefits January 26, 2006

Poll: More Employees Lying about being Ill

January 26, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A new survey of workers and hiring managers found that the number of employees faking an illness to get a sick day rose during 2005 over the year before.
Reported by

The CareerBuilder.com poll found that 43% of workers said they called in sick to work when they felt well at least once during the last year, up from 35% in 2004.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

Employees admitted that most often they just needed some more sleep and decided to catch up by ditching work. Nearly 23% of workers said they were in that category while 17% said they just didn’t feel like going in. Another 16% attributed their work absence to a doctor’s appointment, and 9% said they used their time to catch up on housework and run personal errands.

Thirty-eight percent of workers said they saw sick days as equivalent to vacation days. Wednesday was the most popular for calling in sick when feeling well, with 27% of workers pulling off that ruse.

Extended weekend absences were also popular, with 26% of workers calling in sick on Monday and 14% on Friday, although those partaking may have put themselves at more risk of scrutiny. Sixty-three percent of hiring managers said they are more suspicious of employees calling in sick on either of those days. The survey also revealed that almost one-fourth of respondents have fired an employee for improperly missing work.

Finally, hiring managers shared some of the more unusual absence excuses they have heard over the years:

  • “I’m too drunk to drive to work.”
  • “I accidentally flushed my keys down the toilet.”
  • “I had to help deliver a baby on my way to work.” (Employee was not in the medical profession.)
  • “I accidentally drove through the automatic garage door before it opened.”
  • “My boyfriend’s snake got loose and I’m afraid to leave the bedroom until he gets home.”
  • “I’m too fat to get into my work pants.”
  • “God didn’t wake me.” (Employee didn’t believe in alarm clocks and thought a higher power would wake her when she was ready.)
  • “I cut my fingernails too short, they’re bleeding and I have to go to the doctor.”
  • “The ghosts in my house kept me up all night.”
  • “I forgot I was getting married today.”
  • “My cow bit me.”
  • “I was walking my dog and slipped on a toad in my driveway and hurt my back.”
  • “My house lock jammed, and I’m locked in.”

«