Here comes the most wonderful time of the year … and the time when employees are most likely to ditch work.
Nearly a third (31%) of your peers say they notice a jump in call-outs during the winter holidays. In fact, three of the four most popular months to call in sick are December, January and February, with December topping the list.
Of course, the timing couldn’t be worse. These are also the busiest months in Finance, when time is already at a premium and no one can afford to be caught short.
Unfortunately, you may not be able to do too much to battle back against the phenomenon, other than making sure you’ve cross-trained staffers so they can fill in for each other at a moment’s notice.
New heights of creativity
Being short-staffed is frustrating for sure, but at least you may be able to get a chuckle out of it. The folks at CareerBuilder.com have released their annual list of the wildest excuses for ditching work.
Looks like folks are being forced to get more creative, as the same old excuses won’t cut it anymore.
And creative they are! Take a look at some of the real-life excuses managers have been handed this past year. Hopefully you haven’t run up against any of these:
- “My sobriety tool wouldn’t allow the car to start.”
- “I forgot I had been hired for the job.”
- “My dead grandmother was being exhumed for a police investigation.”
- “My toe was stuck in a faucet.”
- “A bird bit me.”
- “I was upset after watching ‘The Hunger Games.’”
- “I got sick from reading too much.”
- “I was suffering from a broken heart.”
- “My hair turned orange from dying my hair at home.”
- “My dog was having a nervous breakdown.”
There’s even a possible morale-boost lurking in these somewhat-out-there tales.
You might think about sharing these around to finance staffers for a lighthearted break in the midst of their year-end processing.
Maybe everyone can vote of what they thing is the most creative – and the lamest – excuses on the list.
It can make for a lighthearted break when your staffers are working their hardest. And everyone can appreciate that.
Can you top this year’s list? Share it here.
