Did you know that the First Monday of February which this year falls on Monday 3^rd February has been labelled “National Sickie Day”?

Ironically, the data from hundreds of thousands of UK employees shows that this just isn’t true. In fact, this date is only the 14^th in the rankings of sickie days through the year.

The bottom line is that it doesn’t really matter if this particular day ranks 1^st or 14^th, but marking the day is important as it raises the very common issue of workplace absenteeism that companies suffer with all year round.

Taking a Holistic Approach

At Sense Massage we believe in taking a holistic approach to wellbeing right through the year. That’s because absenteeism costs the UK Economy millions in wages, lost hours & overtime – and good employers know that you can do something about it. A healthy and happy workforce is a productive workforce.

Of course, everyone gets ill from time to time, but sometimes people can come up with the weirdest excuses for taking a sick day. We have listed our top 10 worst excuses below, some may seem a little far fetched, but these are all claimed to be completely real.

Top 10 Excuses for Missing Work

Here are our top 10 worst excuses for pulling a “Sickie”, chosen by our team:

1. I thought it was Saturday today.
   
   
   
2. I dreamt I was at work as I thought I was there I just stayed asleep.
   
   
   
3. I’m going to the beach as my doctor says I need more vitamin D.
   
   
   
4. I’ve scheduled a new manicure as some of my false nails have fallen off.
   
   
   
5. I’ve caught my uniform on fire by putting it in the microwave to dry.
   
   
   
6. My goldfish is ill.
   
   
   
7. I have no clean clothes.
   
   
   
8. It’s too cold.
   
   
   
9. I’ve got a blocked nose.
   
   
   
10. A tin of baked beans has landed on my foot.
    

Three Easy Ways to Deal with “Sickie Days”

• Why not bring the “Duvet Day” to work? A duvet day is time off work given by some employers. It differs from holiday allowance in that no prior notice is needed.
• Book a wellness day and invest in employee’s wellbeing, this not only has a positive effect on the lives of your staff but also on the business. The Sense Wellness Day Package (incorporates Morning Yoga, 5 hours Onsite Chair Massage throughout the day and an afternoon Mindfulness Session)
• Start your month off with Massage Monday! Office massage is a brilliant way to show appreciation to employees and having these treatments within the workplace has been shown to reduce absenteeism and boost workplace performance.

Tell us about your company and how you invest in your staff, or if you know of a “sickie” excuse that you think we should add to our list, please post it below.