Catherwood LibraryILR School

Did you hear the one about the woman who couldn't go to work because her chickens' feet were frozen to the driveway? It's not a joke -- it's an actual excuse given to a boss. Gone are the days when an employee called in sick and coughed a little to make the story believable. Today, workers give a variety of excuses when they stay home from the office. And they're doing it a lot. Almost one-third of employees admitted to calling in sick to work last year even though they weren't ill, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey. But some bosses aren't falling for it. Thirty-five percent of employers checked up on their supposedly sick employees. The majority (67 percent) of those suspicious bosses demanded a note from the doctor. A determined 14 percent actually drove by the employee's home.