Spring has well and truly sprung. With a recent spell of warm, sunshine-filled days, it seems that another grey British winter is once again behind us and the UK workforce will be in high spirits and good health for months.
Does it really mean you won’t be hearing the dreaded words “off sick” until around September or October time? Good weather means more work opportunities and more workers available for certain sectors like construction. It should mean fewer coughs and colds, generally better health.Of course recruitment agencies and employers throughout all sectors have to accept that sickness still strikes. Indeed, the dreaded curse of hay fever will soon start blighting many, if it hasn’t already. The unfortunate truth is that sickness happens at any time of year and whatever the weather.Most of the time we have to respect that workers will have legitimate health reasons to miss the occasional shift, but sometimes it’s hard not to suspect people are taking a “sickie” and enjoying the sunshine.National Sickie DayBack on the first Monday of February, National Sickie Day marked what was dubbed the worst day of the year for absenteeism. On this date an estimated 350,000 people were said to take a dubious day off work, “sick.”What were the most popular reasons? A survey of 1,600 adults for the Fine Bedding Company revealed that 38 per cent of workers would be tempted to take a day off because of the weather.Second place in the excuse table was the age-old mystery “not feeling very well,” and at third was the classic self-infliction, a hangover.The full range of excuses included- lying about a bereavement or funeral- children being off school- car breakdown- suffering injury.Excuses Excuses ExcusesOther alternative and imaginative excuses:
- “My plastic surgery has gone wrong”
- “I thought it was a Bank Holiday”
- “I’m stuck on a long distance, non-stop train”
- “I’ve accidentally locked myself in the bathroom”
Desperate appeals of workers to employers offers a rich seam of improbable excuses. Another study of 1,000 workers and 1,000 bosses commissioned by the mutual healthcare provider Benenden Health unearthed the following pearls.1. A can of baked beans landed on my big toe2. I was swimming too fast and smacked my head on the poolside3. My car handbrake broke and it rolled down the hill into a lamppost4. My hamster died5. I slipped on a coin6. I’m stuck in my house because the door’s broken7. My new girlfriend bit me in a delicate place8. The dog ate my shoes9. My toe is trapped in the bath tap10. I’m in A&E as I got a clothes peg stuck on my tongue11. My trousers split on the way to work12. I have a blocked noseHere at Atlantic Resource we’re lucky not to have heard any howlers like these recently, and let’s hope we won’t.Happy Springtime everyone, long may the fine weather continue and let’s keep the excuses to a bare minimum for as long as possible!
