Unusual Reasons for Calling in Sick from Work

Every year companies report billions in lost productivity due to employees calling in sick from work. Of course everyone gets ill and ends up calling in sick from time to time but managers know that not every time an employee is calling in sick that the employee is actually sick.

After a Career Builder survey on the most unusual reasons people give for calling in sick, Rosemary Haefner, VP of Human Resources Career Builder, reported that 60% of employers surveyed said they had no issue with workers calling in sick if they need to take a mental health day from the office. Maybe employees didn't actually believe that since the majority of employee respondents to the survey said they made up excuses for calling in sick when they "just did not feeling like going to work."

What were some of the more creative and unusual reasons that the 5500 workers and employers surveyed said they heard from employees calling in sick in 2010?

1. Employee said a chicken had attacked his mom.
2. Employee's finger was stuck in a bowling ball.
3. Employee had a hair transplant gone bad.
4. Employee fell asleep at his desk while working and hit his head, causing a neck injury.
5. Employee said a cow broke into her house and she had to wait for the insurance man.
6. Employee's girlfriend threw a Sit n Spin through his living room window.
7. Employee's foot was caught in the garbage disposal.
8. Employee called in sick from a bar at 5:00 p.m. the night before.
9. Employee said he wasn't feeling too clever that day.
10. Employee had to mow the lawn to avoid a lawsuit from the home owner's association
11. Employee called in the day after Thanksgiving because she burned her mouth on a pumpkin pie.
12. Employee was in a boat on Lake Erie and ran out of gas and the coast guard towed him to the Canadian side.

Resources
Career Builder
Workplace Stress articles