Most Absurd Excuses for Calling in Sick

A "study" by CareerBuilder asked employers to relate the "most absurd excuses" they've heard from employees calling in sick.

According to the CareerBuilder survey, 38 percent of employees have called in to work sick when they're actually feeling well in the past year -- they just want a day off.

Of those, 27 percent said they had a doctor's appointment, 27 percent said they "just didn't feel like" going to work, 26 percent said they needed to relax, 21 percent said they needed to catch up on sleep, and 12 percent blamed bad weather.

(Yes, that adds up to 113% -- now you know why they need so much Career Building.)

The job help web site says 52 percent of those surveyed work for a company that has a no-excuse-needed paid time off policy -- but most figured they needed to give an excuse anyway when calling in for a day off.

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The Top 10 best time-off excuses the web site collected from bosses in the survey:

    Employee claimed his grandmother poisoned him with ham.

    Employee was stuck under the bed.

    Employee broke his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.

    Employee said the universe was telling him to take a day off.

    Employee's wife found out he was cheating. He had to spend the day retrieving his belongings from the dumpster.

    Employee poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.

    Employee said his wife put all his underwear in the washer.

    Employee said the meal he cooked for a department potluck didn't turn out well.

    Employee was going to the beach because the doctor said she needed more vitamin D.

    Employee said her cat was stuck inside the dashboard of her car.

Dave Oesterreich