Workers Give Wacky Excuses For Tardiness

Thursday, March 18, 2010 17:16 GMT

According to a study by CareerBuilder.com, 16 percent of employees arrive late to work at least once a week and 8 percent do so twice a week.

Commonly, 32 percent blame their tardiness on traffic, while 24 percent blame lack of sleep. About 7 percent claim their kids made them late and 7 percent insist bad weather was the culprit.

But some workers opt for much wackier excuses.

One employee couldn’t clock in on time because he was supposedly mugged and tied to the steering wheel of his car.

Another “dreamt” they were already at work and one guy was late because, in his words, “I had an early morning gig as a clown.”

Though some bosses may be lenient with tardiness, 34 percent say they’ve fired someone for being late. Luckily, workers are more punctual this year than last year, likely due to the tighter job market.