“I ate a toothpick” and 9 other wild excuses for calling out to work

There’s nothing funny about the severity of this flu season. But this list of the 10 craziest excuses people have given when calling out sick will certainly give you a chuckle.

“[Cough cough] I can’t come in to work today because I’m [cough cough] … sick.”

As a manager you’ve likely gotten a few of these messages left on your voicemail. Maybe you’ve even left a few of them yourself.

Many people are legitimately sick when they call out. And then there are these folks, whose call out excuses were captured by the folks at CareerBuilder.

• “A bear was in my yard and I am afraid to come out.”
• “My phone exploded, and it hurt my hand.”
• “I ate a toothpick in my food at a restaurant.”
• “I broke my arm wrestling a female bodybuilder.” [This was a male employee.]
• “I’m calling in “fat” because my uniform doesn’t fit.”
• “The dog swallowed my car keys so I’m waiting until it comes out.”
• “I left my clothes at the laundry mat.”
• “I didn’t have enough gas to get to work.”
• “I had to re-schedule a new manicure because some of my artificial nails fell off.”
• “I wasn’t sure how the solar eclipse would affect me so it would be safer to stay at home.”

Have you heard an excuse that tops these? Tell us in the Comments section.

Info: press.careerbuilder.com/2017-11-16-Increased-Number-of-Workers-Calling-In-Sick-When-They-Arent-Finds-CareerBuilders-Annual-Survey