Worst absence excuses of 2013

Recently, Honeydew Health came across a discussion on Linkedin asking members of its group to share the best (or worst, depending on how you think about it) absence excuses they have ever heard.

This made us think. With many many years of experience in Absence Management, between us we have heard our fair share of brilliant absence excuses and we would like to share them with our readers along with a few of our thoughts. So here goes.

Sorry, I can’t come to work today because….

My hair got caught in my hairdryer – whilst this is obviously no reason to skip work, we bet that many people have experienced this and will agree that it can actually ruin your day.
My hamster ran away – although to most the loss of a hamster wouldn’t spur too many emotional thoughts, this employee launched a full house manhunt to find their beloved hamster.
My dog has had a big fright so I don’t want to leave him alone – the plight of pets is becoming a theme here…
Someone stole my shoes on the way to work – this goes to prove that people really will steal anything these days!
I’ve hurt my finger – well, we all know that sometimes the smallest injuries hurt the most (as is the case with paper cuts) but surely this shouldn’t have warrant the 2 week long absence this excuse caused?
My ex-wife stole my wallet so I can’t afford the train to work – empathy was the key to the success of this excuse on a predominately male building site.
My husband has locked me in the house – this turned out to be an accident, but again, we felt for her.

This list could go on and on but we’d like to save the rest for a pending discussion on our Linkedin Group. If you want to share your comical excuses and brighten someone else’s day, please do on our twitter page! But remember: keep all cases confidential!

(To see the full original Linkedin discussion that spurred this article, click here)