32 Percent of Workers Called in Sick with Fake Excuses Last Year, According to Survey

The next time you want to call in sick, you might want to think things over before giving a fake excuse. A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com say that while thirty-two percent of the workers they surveyed said that they have called in sick when they were well at least once during the past year and while seventy-five percent of the employers typically believe the excuses given by their employees, sixteen percent of the employer surveyed says that they have fired an employee for missing work without a legitimate excuse and thirty-five percent of the employers say that they check up on the employee who has called in sick.

According to the CareerBuilder's survey, amongst the methods used by the thirty-five percent of the employers who checked up on their employees, sixty-seven percent say that they require employees to show a doctor's note while fifty-nine percent call the employee at home, sixteen percent says they have another worker calling the employee, while 14 percent drove by the employee's house. The survey also revealed that Monday is usually the most popular day for absenteeism amongst employees according to fifty-two percent of the employers followed by Friday and then Saturday.

Amongst the reasons put forth by the respondents for missing work, twenty-three percent said that they just didn't feel like going to work, fifteen percent says that they missed work because they needed to relax, eleven percent had doctor's appointment, nine percent wants to a catch up on some sleep, and nine percent had plans with family and friends.

According to Rosemary Haefner, Vice Presdient of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com, employers nowadays are giving more importance on work and life balance and offer more opportunities for employees to recharge and return to work. Haefner also added that employees should be honest about asking for time off from their employers since an employer is more likely to give you the time off if you're honest but lying and making up excuses could create a negative impact on your credibility.

CareerBuilder's survey also revealed that twenty-seven percent of the workers surveyed consider their sick days to be equivalent to vacation days and that employers are becoming more flexible about their sick day programs. Sixty-nine percent of employers, according to CareerBuilder, say that they allow their employees to use sick days for mental health days.

CareerBuilder conducted the survey online and 5,989 workers and 2,929 hiring managers and human resource professionals participated in the survey.
SOURCE:

CareerBuilder.com, "Nearly One-Third of Workers Called in Sick with Fake Excuses in the Last Year, CareerBuilder.com's Annual Survey Shows." Prnewswire.com