Cat hiccups, a disgruntled
roommate and a governor’s phone call are among this year’s most unusual
excuses employees gave for being tardy, according to a new CareerBuilder
study. Sixteen percent of workers said they arrive late to work once a
week or more, up from 15% last year; 27% arrive late to work at least
once a month, up from 26% last year. While employers are more flexible
about work schedules and start times today, excessive tardiness can have
serious consequences. Over one-third of employers said they have
terminated an employee for being late. Traffic, sleep schedules and
weather conditions are the top three causes for late arrivals to the
office, according to workers:
- Traffic – 31% of workers
- Lack of sleep – 18%
- Bad weather – 11%
- Getting kids to school or daycare – 8%
Other common reasons for
tardiness included public transportation delays, pets, spouses, watching
TV and Internet usage. When asked for examples of the most outrageous
excuses employees provided for being late, hiring managers said:
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Employee’s cat had the hiccups.
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Employee thought she had won the lottery (she didn’t).
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Employee got distracted watching the “TODAY” Show.
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Employee’s angry roommate cut the cord to his phone charger, so it didn’t charge and his alarm didn’t go off.
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Employee believed his commute time should count toward his work hours.
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Employee claimed a fox stole her car keys.
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Employee’s leg was trapped between the subway car and the platform (turned out to be true).
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Employee said he wasn’t late because he had no intention of getting to work before 9:00 a.m. (his start time was 8:00 a.m.)
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Employee was late because of a job interview with another firm.
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Employee had to take a personal call from the state governor (turned out to be true).
