“I lost a darts tournament last night and I am too traumatised to come in to work today”

“I lost a darts tournament last night and I am too traumatised to come in to work today” – One of the most bizarre excuses for calling in sick to work found by survey published by CV-Library.

A recent survey published by jobs website CV-Library has identified that over the last year, around 80% of workers in the UK have called in sick, with women more likely to feel guilty than men when “pulling a sickie”.

In addition, the survey established that over half of workers who participated felt guilty for phoning in sick, because of the stress they then left on co-workers who had to pick up their work.

Some of the most ludicrous excuses range from; “There are cows in my garden so I cannot get to work”, “I lost a darts tournament last night and I am too traumatised to come in to work today”, “I have blisters from wearing new shoes on Saturday night.”

Other excuses included, “I left my work uniform on the bus”, “My hamster is sick and has to go to the vet”, “My boyfriend changed his relationship status on Facebook to single”, “I’m having a BBQ at the weekend and need time to prepare for it.”

The CV-Library identified that the main reason employees called in sick was due to tiredness and lack of sleep. 65% of 55-64 year olds who participated in the survey admitted that they occasionally did not go in to work due to lack of energy.

15% of participants said that they did not go into work because they could not be bothered and 13% had “other plans”.

It was further identified, that generally managers were reasonably tolerant and 86% stated that their line manager was understanding when they had to take a sick day.

Lee Biggins, who is the founding director of CV-Library was reported to state: “Honesty was very important in the workplace as trust from an employer is always vital.”

“While it’s all too easy to come up with an excuse for not turning up to work, it’s important to think about the bigger picture and wider implications of your absence.”

“In today’s working world, it is clear professionals are still taking unnecessary sick days, giving a whole host of excuses for not turning up to work. But while it might seem like a good idea at the time, many workers are feeling the guilt, recognising that their decisions have a wider impact on their team and work load.”

How employers can minimise absence and lateness

As well as conducting a return to work interview, employers can also address workplace issues in order to minimise absence. ACAS recommend that employers and line managers assess the quality of management, working relationships, job design, employment relations, communication of information and flexible working arrangements.

Further, employers should make their employees aware that all unauthorised absences will be noted and investigated. By doing this, employees will be less inclined to take random sick days without cause.

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