Sick day excuses: Dentures out the window, football team lost

CHICAGO, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A Chicago website said its nationwide survey found excuses given by employees who called in sick include losing false teeth out the car window.

CareerBuilder said the survey of 3,484 U.S. full-time workers and 2,099 hiring managers and human resource professionals, carried out online by Harris Interactive Aug. 13-Sept. 6, found excuses given by employees who called in sick include losing false teeth out the car window while driving on the highway, needing Monday off to recover from a favorite football team's Sunday loss, being unable to get to a car because of a swarm of bees, being unable to leave the house due to windows and doors being glued shut and being too grouchy for work because of quitting smoking.

The survey suggests 32 percent of U.S. workers have called in sick without actually being ill in the past year and 30 percent said they went to work despite their sickness so they could save their sick days for when they were well.

The survey suggests 30 percent of employers note an increase in sick days being used around the holidays, and 30 percent said they have checked in on employees who called in sick to verify their ailments.

The survey had a margin of error of 2.14 percentage points and plus or minus 1.66 percentage points with a 95 percent probability.