Faking Illness to the Boss

Seven per cent of employees admit they do it to take leave

You too have probably taken a day off work on some pretext. Whether your excuse worked or not is another matter, but one excuse for skipping the office is an all-time hit. According to a survey, the excuse people use most often to take leave is the flu.

According to a survey of 2,000 people in Britain, most employees claim to have flu even when they have some other illness, and bosses readily grant them leave. The survey covered 1,000 bosses and 1,000 employees. It found that only one boss in five considers a headache or backache a good enough reason for leave. Not only that, even an accident or some kind of surgery fails to win the boss's sympathy.

Meanwhile, 41 per cent of bosses consider flu a sufficient reason for leave, believing that someone with flu should stay home and rest properly. Seven per cent of employees surveyed admitted that they fake illness to their boss to take leave. When they are stressed or anxious, they fake illness six times more often to get time off. And 40 per cent of employees said they never tell their boss the truth about why they are taking leave.