We’ve all done it.
In fact… some of you might be doing it right now.
Statistics have shown that on any given weekday, approximately 300,000 Aussies are taking a sick day. ‘Chucking a sickie‘ is a proud past-time of ours.
Whether or not you are ACTUALLY sick is irrelevant. The important part is whether or not your boss believes you.
A UK healthcare provider, Benenden, has conducted a study of 2500 people in the British workforce. Both employees and employers undertook the study, entitled “Which Excuse Should I Use To Get Out Of Work Next Time The Weather Is Nice” (okay, it wasn’t called that).
The study focussed on what sickness was perceived as being the most acceptable for taking a day off.
The number one most believable reason was ‘spewing’, ‘puking’, ‘blowing chunks’… you get the idea. A high 73% of people thought that vomiting was a decent excuse to stay home.
Just as pleasant to talk about as vomiting, and almost as likely to work, with 71% support from the workforce.
If you’ve get the dreaded ‘flu, your colleagues will believe you. Well, 59% will.
A ‘sickness bug’ is the fourth most acceptable excuse. Because do NOT ask questions, in case the answer is diarrhoea.
After that, the support for sickness kind of dwindles. Only 19% of workers think that ‘stress’ is a fair excuse for a day off, and even less support ‘mental health’. Only 6% think that ‘under the weather’ is a good excuse (which is fair, because that person couldn’t even be bothered coming up with a good excuse).
So there you have it. If you’re going for a sick day, aim for the top four.
Otherwise you might as well just ring up your boss and say “I can’t be bothered”… which is often the truth, right?
