SavvySugar

Have You Lied to Your Employer About Being Sick This Winter?

SavvySugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:15:27 -0800

Unbelievable Work Excuses, According to You

SavvySugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:30:19 -0700

At the beginning of the week I told you about Careerbuilder's recent survey that asked bosses for the most ridiculous excuses they've heard from employees calling to say they'd be missing work. You all responded with stories of unbelievable excuses you've heard or used, and below are some that made my eyes pop! Some are true and some are not - which do you think is most outrageous?

"I got apricot scrub in my eye when I was washing my face. I cut my eye so I can't come in."
A girl called in one day because she forgot to put her clothes in the dryer, and her dryer was old, so it would take several hours for her clothes to dry. By then it was not worth coming in to work that day.
Someone called in sick by saying a wasp was in the closet holding all the work clothes, and the next day the worker called in say with a reaction to a wasp sting.
"You know how when you are drifting off to sleep and you jerk awake? One woman claims she got whiplash that way!"

See four more excuses when you read more.

One boss reported that a worker called in saying his neighbor had just struck a deer with her car, and he needed to wait for the gaming commission to come tag it and then he needed to process the meat right away before it went bad. "In other words, he took a no-pay day for road kill."
One manager reports that a worker called in saying, "My son was biting his toenails yesterday and they became infected overnight and I can't make it to work today." Ew!
An employee said her ex chained a pit bull to the front porch and she couldn't get outside the front door.
A co-worker called in saying "she fell asleep in the bathtub last night and her tailbone is bruised so she can't sit at her desk."

Source

The Most Ridiculous Excuses For Missing Work

SavvySugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:00:21 -0700

There are two main points that I took away from reading the results of a recent Careerbuilder survey: Some bosses actually drive by employees' homes when they've called in sick, and some people will say anything to get out of going to work. Both parties are guilty, but the boss might be doing more damage than the employee in this case.

Thirty-one percent of the employers surveyed said they follow up with employees who call in sick, some require doctor's notes, others check in by calling, and a creepy percentage drives by the employee's home. The employers reported actual excuses they've heard, and the most unusual responses are below. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but really, most of these are ridiculous. Which do you think is the worst?

Employee didn’t want to lose the parking space in front of his house.
Employee hit a turkey while riding a bike.
Employee said he had a heart attack early that morning, but that he was “all better now."
Employee donated too much blood.
Employee’s dog was stressed out after a family reunion.
Employee was kicked by a deer.

See six more excuses when you read more.

Employee contracted mono after kissing a mailroom intern at the company holiday party and suggested the company post some sort of notice to warn others who may have kissed him.
Employee swallowed too much mouthwash.
Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work.
Employee’s toe was injured when a soda can fell out of the refrigerator.
Employee was up all night because the police were investigating the death of someone discovered behind her house.
Employee’s psychic told her to stay home.

Source

Study Says People Come to Work Sick Because of Pressure

SavvySugar — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:45:13 -0700

Savvy stats that show 34 percent of you are too busy to miss work when you're sick and 22 percent of you are just too stubborn to stay home, go right along with a national study where half the people reported they go to work when they're sick.

A new poll conducted by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health looks at the reasons why people go to work when they don't feel well. The main causes include the fact most workers don't have paid sick leave or that they feel pressure from their employer to be present no matter how they feel. Robert Blendon, of the Harvard School of Public Health, says:

The fact that so many people feel they can't stay at home for economic reasons is not the best way to go in terms of the best health of families. You want them to feel that if they're sick, the best option is to stay home without serious financial penalties.

Does your work offer paid sick leave or are you penalized financially when you call in with the flu and have to risk spreading your germs around?

Source

Should Paid Sick Time Be an Employment Standard?

SavvySugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:29 -0700

Many of you admit that you go to work sick because you're too busy to miss work, but for 46 million US workers it's not the workload that's keeping them from taking time off, it's that they don't have the benefit of paid sick leave. Advocates of proposed state bills mandating paid sick leave are hoping legislation would expand existing benefits and add new ones.

Come November, voters in 12 states, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota and West Virginia, will have the chance to share their feelings about proposed state laws that would enforce businesses to offer paid sick leave. According to the US Department of Labor, about 80 percent of management-level workers have paid sick time compared to 39 percent of service workers.

Washington DC and San Francisco already have laws requiring paid sick time off, which helps ensure workers can still pay their bills even if they come down with a flu that leaves them bedridden. Workers' advocates believe paid sick time should be an employment standard like the federal minimum wage. Do you agree?

Source

Third State in US Approves Paid Family Leave

SavvySugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:26:48 -0800

An emotional debate among New Jersey's State Senate ended Monday with new family legislation. If the bill becomes law, New Jersey could claim status as the third state to give employees the right to take paid leave to care for a newborn or sick relative.
Workers taking leave would be eligible for two-thirds their salary maxing out at $524 per week for six weeks. The measure would be financed by employee payroll deductions that would cost New Jersey workers a maximum of $33 a year. The assembly is expected to approve the bill next week, and if the bill becomes law it would be effective as of the first of next year.

The federal version of the law - the Family and Medical Leave Act - was enacted for the same purpose but leave under the act is unpaid. California offers $917 per week for employees requiring family leave, and next year Washington state will begin offering about half that weekly sum for family leave.