If you’re late for work, perhaps you blame it on the fact that you’ve overslept, or maybe it has to do with the weather, traffic or family situations.
But have you ever been late for work because all your clothes were stolen or your hair caught fire while you were blow-drying it? If so, congratulations! You’ve made the list of employees' top bizarre excuses for being late according to a survey released Thursday by CareerBuilder.
The employment and careers hub said it conducted the survey alongside Harris Polls from Nov. 4 to Dec. 1, 2015, with more than 2,500 hiring and human resources professionals and 3,200 workers across industries weighing in. The survey found that 1 in 4 workers admitted they were late for work at least once a month, while 13 percent fessed up that they are tardy once a week.
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These excuses come at a pivotal point for getting to work “on time.” CareerBuilder went on to say that 67 percent of employers and 66 percent of employees consider the 9-to-5 grind to be antiquated. Even so, 51 percent of employers expect employees to arrive on time and 41 percent have fired someone for being late. 62 percent of employees that did arrive late said they are prepared to make up for any missed time by staying late.
In addition, a third of employers said occasional lateness is not an issue, while 16 percent said they don’t consider punctuality to be essential as long as their employees get their work done.
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The traditional excuses continue to dominate the conversation. Traffic woes accounted for 53 percent of excuses made, while oversleeping and bad weather made up 33 percent and 28 percent, respectively. A lack of sleep chalked up 23 percent of excuses and day care or school drop-off took 15 percent.
That said, some other bizarre excuses from the survey include:
I thought of quitting today, but then decided not to, so I came in late.
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.
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.
There was fresh powder on the hill. I had to go skiing.
There was a store grand opening and I wanted to get the opening day sales.
I had to finish watching “My Name is Earl.”
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.