Funny Reasons Why Employees Call in Sick

Career Builder recently released statistics on some of the most outrageous excuses for missing work. Over the past year 28% of employees called in sick which is an improvement over the 32% the previous year.  When probed for a reason 30% stated they simply didn’t feel like going to work, 29% said they wanted to relax, 21% to attend a doctor’s visit, 19% to catch up on sleep and 11% wanted to avoid bad weather. 

Considering that employees in professional positions don’t generally provide a reason to use their personal/sick days there is little reason to track these statistics. One could simply decide to watch reruns of Lost and that would be excuse enough under company policies. Those who do not have an allotment of sick or personal days must call in with a reason or risk termination. 

Some of these excuses boarder on being quit funny and seem to beg employers to question their legitimacy. A few interesting top responses employers reported are:

1. Employee just put a casserole in the oven.
2. Employee’s plastic surgery for enhancement purposes needed some "tweaking" to get it just right.
3. Employee was sitting in the bathroom and her feet and legs fell asleep. When she stood, up she fell and broke her ankle.
4. Employee had been at the casino all weekend and still had money left to play with on Monday morning.
5. Employee woke up in a good mood and didn't want to ruin it.
6. Employee had a “lucky night” and didn’t know where he was.
7. Employee got stuck in the blood pressure machine at the grocery store and couldn't get out.
8. Employee had a gall stone they wanted to heal holistically.
9. Employee caught their uniform on fire by putting it in the microwave to dry.
10. Employee accidentally got on a plane.

Employers sometimes require the employee to provide some type of proof.  Sixty-six percent (66%) of employers required a doctor’s note, 49% called the employee and 15% drove by an employee’s house.  When unconvinced 18% of employers stated they fired employees for not being honest about their reasons. 

Employers should use wisdom when cracking down on employee sickness in low-wage fields where employees don’t have the same flexibility as other jobs. At times managers may not allow employees to schedule a day off in advance, may not want to discuss their medical issues with their employer, or may have an appointment they can’t get out from.  

On a positive note a total of 53% have gone into work even though they were actually sick. A total of 38% went into work sick because they could not afford to be set back on their paychecks.  It would appear that the far majority of employees seek to come to work even when they are not ill and generally don’t miss work when unless they have to. Managers should consider these statistics before assuming employees are being dishonest.

The Career Builder Survey

Communication Skills Improve Employment Opportunities

Communication is an important skill that college graduates should develop to enhance their opportunities in the workplace and life. The benefits of strong communication skills reach across employment fields and social demographics to improve graduates employment prospects and chances for future promotion.  Learning to effectively speak and write is a skill highly sought after employers and is generally rewarded in the market. 

Because communication opens doors to a number of different opportunities that wouldn’t have been available otherwise it is important for college students to pay attention when professors provide feedback on papers or comment on speaking abilities. Before getting bent out of shape students should understand that feedback is used for improvement and not for criticism.

Employers want students who communicate well in verbal and written form. Employers seldom find the proper amount of oral communication skills among college graduates (Gray & Murray, 2011). The ability to express oneself and talk to each other to achieve goals is important in social situations to get one’s voice heard.  

Consider the regular use of email, letters, and other electronic formats of writing in the modern workplace. The ability to write and communicate using these mediums is a must for those who desire to successfully navigate the workplace.  Information and communication skills can lead to greater employment opportunities as well as higher pay and promotion (Walton, et. al. 2009). 

Communication also fits with other important skills used on the job. Employers seek candidates with soft skills like communication, integrity, courtesy, responsibility, social skills, attitude, professionalism, teamwork, flexibility, and work ethic (Robles, 2012). These skills are more complex than occupational learning and move a candidate more into the world of professionalism. 

Crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s may not be a whole lot of fun but it can have a significant impact on a person’s occupational success. Communication is a skill that develops over many years and as one becomes stronger at communicating they will naturally find more ears listening. Even though strong communication is extremely important for business graduates who desire to someday be managers its benefits are not exclusive to the business field alone. 

Gray, E. & Murray, N. (2011). A distinguishing factor: oral communication skills in new accountancy graduates. Accounting education, 20 (3). 

Robles, M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75 (4). 

Walton, R. et. al. (2009). Skills are not binary: nuances in the relationship between ICT skills and employability. Information Technologies & International Development, 5 (2).

Improvement of American Economic Impressions and Inherent Risks to Sustainability

An August 5^th poll by PEW shows how Americans are having an improved perception of the economy but is unsure of how beneficial it will become. The study uses 1002 adults to gauge their perception of the economy and what it means to them. Whether this impression will continue will depend on whether they realize benefits in their opportunities, income, earning power, and social networks. 

At present Americans 10% hear mostly good news, 24% mostly bad news, 64% mixed news and 3% not sure.  The vast majority of Americans are unsure if the economy is really improving or if it will have positive impact on them. They are becoming more optimistic but with a recession full of skepticism to overcome. 

Despite the mixed results there have been some improvements since a similar poll in February. The amount of people hearing positive news increased 5%, those hearing bad news dropped 9%, while mixed news increased 4%. There appears to be an adjustment going on that will impact consumer behavior in terms of purchasing, seeking employment, and savings rate that could support sustained growth.

Hearing about the economy from media and politicians does have an impact on how people perceive the economy but is not the final word. These words will only have so much meaning unless it impacts their employment opportunities and chances to earn living wages. People must experience the same phenomenon in their personal lives and hear confirmation of improvement in their social networks. 

They are more optimistic about jobs with 20% hearing good news, 34% bad news, 41% mixed news, and 4% don’t know. That is an improvement since January with an increase in 8% hearing good news, a decrease in 8% hearing bad news, a decrease in 3% hearing mixed news and an additional 1% unsure. 

The results of the study are limited by their sample size but offers a small glimpse of what could be improvement of perception of the economy by Americans. Lasting positive impressions will only occur if the continued news is confirmed within the way they live their lives and among the people they associate. 

That proof comes in varying forms but is often seen through employment and wages. It can also be realized in earning power as it relates to prices of everyday items such as gas, household products, rent/mortgage and food. If these prices rise and cut their spending and saving potential the overall impact will be muted and short lived. 

That should be the end goal. Americans want to see improvement on the ground level. The recent news of growth is less than a year old and benefits on the corporate level may not have yet trickled down to the masses. This financial boost will be a major sticking point with people. If opportunities do not both improve upon the profit margins of companies and the livelihoods of people than their impression will change again and the positive news seem more like wishful thinking. 

http://www.people-press.org/2014/08/05/modest-improvement-in-views-of-economic-news/

The Skills that Lead to Employment in Undergraduate Online Education

In higher education employability has come to the forefront of the debate. Arguments revolve around graduate success in finding employment.  Research by Silva, et. al (2013) helps highlight which skills seem to encourage employability in the market based upon the perceptions of students and teachers at a public university that offers online classes. The report indicates that the societal function of higher education is to encourage the highest employment readiness but cannot determine actual employment itself which is dependent on market factors. 

The study was based upon perceptions of employment skills needed for successfully navigating the market. Research subjects were drawn from an online learning center from the Universidade Alberta to help determine the most important employment skills and those skills to be developed in the online undergraduate system. 

It is beneficial to understand what the purpose of higher education is within society. Knowing how higher education fits within society will help provide a conceptual framework for determining proper skills. According to Harvey (1999) higher education should:

-Establish links to employers that assist them with developing strategies to overcome lack of qualifications.

-Contribute to solutions for education and training in highly-skilled areas with a lack of qualified workers. 

-Prepare graduates with effective skills ensuring that employability requirements are explicit within courses of study. 

Higher education follows the same supply and demand concepts within the market as other entities. Where there is a need for educated workers higher education can help fill the gap through adjusting their curriculum for maximum relevance. They cannot control the market but are able to respond appropriate to that market through understanding the needs of employers and reflecting those needs within their curriculum. 

The development of students naturally has an impact on the development of a nation. When job needs are fulfilled the employer is able to move closer to maximum productivity. Think of how low I.T. skill availability is forcing companies to outsource operations or hire foreign workers. Reich, cited by Knight, discusses the need for higher education to enhance natural skills (Knight, 2003):

-Abstraction: Theory and empirical analysis that includes formulas, equations, models, and metaphors. 

-Systems of Thought: The way the brain processes information. 

-Experimentation: Intuitive experimentation and analytical experimentation. 

-Collaboration: Using communication and teamwork to solve problems. 

The study highlights how students and faculty have a slightly different impression of the skills needed to find jobs. Both groups agree that the concepts of problem solving, planning, decision-making, and willingness to learn as fundamental skills that guild them in their careers. Adaptable and transformative profiles should be enhanced. Adaptive employees are able to learn new skills and apply them to their workplace while transformative people are able to move beyond the rules to change the workplace into a higher functioning entity. Higher education has the responsibility to improve upon the process of knowledge attainment and job skill competence but the specific employment opportunity is the responsibility of the graduate and the employer. The closer schools are to businesses and their needs the more likely relevant market skills will be developed.

Harvey, L, (1999). New realities: The relationship between higher education and

employment. Birmingham Centre for Research into Quality.

Knight, T. P., & Yorke, M. (2003). Assessment learning and employability. England:

SRHE and Open University Press Imprint.

Silva, A., et. al. (2013). Employability in Online Higher Education : A Case Study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14 (1).

How is a Professor’s Time Divided?

The notion of professors sitting around on plush chairs discussing the nuances of a latest theory is gone. No longer do dusty books, social ramblings, and conversations of historic significance make their way into the ivory towers. A study at Boise State University dismisses the myth of esoteric discussions and replaces it with longer workweeks engage in teaching, administrative work, and meetings. 

The study printed Inside Higher Ed was limited to the university and 30 instructors but does indicate that the expectations of professors have changed. On average professors worked 61 hours a week and worked nearly every day of the week. This means that when they are home on Saturday or Sunday they also engage in their work. 

Around 60% of their work was completed on campus, 24% at home and 17% at off-campus locations. The majority of the time professors worked alone on their projects and used only 17% of their time with other colleagues and 15% with other students.  According to the study findings 58% of time was spent on teaching, 22% on research and 20% on administrative tasks.

Teaching is seen as one of the primary responsibilities of faculty followed by research. Administrative tasks appear to take up additional time and may be a result of the economic changes occurring at colleges. The author indicates that teaching is often encouraged due to the income students provide to the university while many faculty are still personally rewarded for their research.

The study is important because it helps potential professors as well as current professors understand how their normal day will be divided and how much effort they are going to put toward their work. Many of the long hours are part of a “labor of love” as the entrepreneurial spirit of researchers seems to make their way into their lifestyle. It is simply hard for them to ignore their work for any great length of time. Being a professor is more of a lifestyle choice than an occupational choice.

Read the Study