WASHINGTON — Calling in late for work is a morning ritual for some. But not all excuses are about the weather or malfunctioning alarm clocks.
Some workers offer excuses such as: “My lizard had to have emergency surgery in the morning and died during surgery. I had to mourn while deciding whether to have the lizard disposed of by the vet or bring the lizard corpse with me to work.”
According to a national online survey by Harris Poll for CareerBuilder, 1 in 4 workers admitted they come in late to work at least once a month, and 13 percent say they do it every week.
Most Bizarre Late-to-Work Excuses
When surveyed about the most outrageous excuses employees have given them for being late, employers gave the following:
- I thought of quitting today, but then decided not to, so I came in late.
- My hair caught on fire from my blow dryer.
- I was detained by Homeland Security.
- I had to chase my cows back into the field.
- A black bear entered my carport and decided to take a nap on the hood of my car.
- There was a store grand opening and I wanted to get the opening day sales.
- All of my clothes were stolen.
- I was confused by the time change and unsure if it was “spring forward” or “fall back.”
- A Vaseline truck overturned on the highway and cars were slipping left and right.
Goodbye 9 to 5
Approximately 2 in 3 employers (67 percent) and employees (66 percent) believe the concept of “working 9 to 5” is an outdated practice, but more than half of employers — 51 percent — expect employees to be on time every day, and 4 in 10 have fired someone for being late.
Some employers are more merciful than others, however. One-third of employers say they don’t have a problem with the occasional late arrival, as long as it doesn’t become repetitive, and 16 percent say they don’t need employees to be punctual if they can still get their work done. And 62 percent of workers who arrive late will stay later to make up for it.
The survey also found more traditional excuses for being late to work are still very common:
- 53 percent blamed traffic and road conditions.
- 33 percent said oversleeping.
- 28 percent on bad weather.
- 15 percent on getting children to school.
