If you’re going to be late to work, have a good excuse. One in four people show up to the office late at least once a month, according to a survey of 800 employees by Harris Poll for a CareerBuilder survey, and when it comes up for creative reasons for tardiness, they found the best of the best:
“It's too cold to work.”
“I had morning sickness (it was a man).”
“My coffee was too hot and I couldn't leave until it cooled off.”
“An astrologer warned me of a car accident on a major highway, so I took all backroads, making me an hour late.”
“My dog ate my work schedule.”
“I was here, but I fell asleep in the parking lot.”
“My fake eyelashes were stuck together.”
“Although it has been five years, I forgot I did not work at my former employer's location and drove there on accident.”
Florida clinical psychologist E. Carol Webster says people weave elaborate tales of woe to avoid leaving the impression of possessing a character flaw reflected in their tardiness.
38% of employees between the ages of 18 and 34 are late at least once a month, compared with 36% for those 35 to 44, but only 14% of those 45 and older.