Watercooler
National Sickie Day: Ridiculous Lies People Have Told To Pull A Sickie
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 3 Feb 2020
The buzz of Christmas and New Year is a distant memory. It’s cold and damp and there are numerous sick bugs doing the round of the office - it’s no wonder some people find it tempting to pull a sickie.
The first Monday of February marks ‘National Sickie Day’ - the day that most people are expected to call in sick, with cold and flu being the most cited excuse. However, some more creative excuses have of course been used!
“Being in HR for over 20 years I really have heard every excuse under the sun! The two excuses that will stay with me forever are "I’m sorry I won’t be in today as the job I applied for rejected me and I feel depressed" and "I have been up all night watching the election and really cannot make it to work as I’m so upset that the Green Party didn't do well.” Naomi Aharony, Reboot Digital Marketing
“I got a phone call from an employee at 3 am in the morning, clearly drunk as he was slurring his words excessively. He told me he can't come in tomorrow as he's got a sickness bug and diarrhoea!” Tim Grinsdale, TOAD Diaries
“An employee called in to state that they’re ‘mourning for Michael Jackson’s death’ – whilst everyone was saddened by the news that the king of pop had passed away it didn’t mean that the office was closed. What made it funnier was that the employee in question wasn’t even a big fan of his.” Robert Faulkner, Datadial
“My girlfriend has been pushed down the stairs by the dog, so I’ve got to go and take her to A&E.” Andrew Dark, Custom Planet
If you’re feeling genuinely under the weather, here are five companies that have fantastic healthcare benefits in place to take care of you:
Expedia
Expedia is one of the world’s largest online travel companies. Among the benefits listed on its website are; generous sick allowance, critical illness cover, death in service cover, flexible working, working from home and gym membership.
One employee stated on a Glassdoor review, “It's a great package and every year something new gets added.”
Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies. Health benefits listed on its website and reported through Glassdoor Benefits Reviews include; health and wellbeing programmes, family friendly working environment, volunteering support, flexible working and generous sick pay.
Innocent
From its humble beginnings of selling smoothies at a music festival in 1999, Innocent is now one of the leading producers of soft drinks. Innocent takes its commitment to its employee’s health and wellbeing incredibly seriously. Among the perks on offer are; flexible working, free breakfast, free gym membership, yoga club – a great way to practice mindfulness, and access to an employee assistance programme.
EY
EY is one of the world’s biggest accountancy firms. EY states that health is a big focus for the company. On offer to employees are private healthcare, free health assessments, occupational health and rehabilitation consultancy, free online health assessment and 24-hour confidential counselling service that is also available to families of employees.
Markerstudy Group
Markerstudy Group is a privately owned company that specialises in insurance. According to Markerstudy Group’s website and Glassdoor Benefits Reviews, health benefits on offer include; volunteering days, healthy eating advice and fitness challenges, healthcare plans and an employee assistance programme.
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Glassdoor Team
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