You won’t believe the late-for-work excuses they’re using now

Just when you thought you’d heard them all, employees have come up with some new and creative excuses for coming in late to the office.

So finds the folks at CareerBuilder. And there are some real doozies on it.

While we know (or hope) your own finance staffers would never try any of these on you, they are worth a chuckle:

• I knocked myself out in the shower.
• I was drunk and forgot which Waffle House I parked my car next to.
• I discovered my spouse was having an affair, so I followed him this morning to find out who he was having an affair with.
• Someone robbed the gas station I was at, and I didn’t have enough gas to get to another station.
• I had to wait for the judge to set my bail.
• There was a stranger sleeping in my car.
• A deer herd that was moving through town made me late.
• I dreamed that I got fired.
• I went out to my car to drive to work, and the trunk had been stolen out of it.
• I’m not late. I was thinking about work on the way in.

Despite the amateur Private Investigator antics, criminal activities and possible substance abuse issues, there is some learning in this latest list.

Often the reason that employees will lie about why they’re late for work? They fear the repercussions. And justifiably so: 2 in 5 employers have fired someone for tardiness.

Benchmarks help you see where you stand

So where as a manager do you come in on the occasional lateness? The CareerBuilder survey also uncovered some benchmarks to help you see how you compare with your peers.

Take a look at these attitudes to figure out which most mirrors yours:

Do you have any problem with an occasional lateness at work? One third (33%) of your peers say it’s no big deal as long as it doesn’t become a habit.

Do you expect staffers to make up the time? This may make the now-and-then lateness more tolerable: 59% of people say they’ll stay late to make up the time when they’re late.

Does arrival time not matter anyway? If you embrace this most-liberal attitude, you’re definitely in the minority; just 16% say they don’t care if their team members are late as long as they get their work done.

No matter where you fall on the management continuum, there’s one thing every CFO should do: be certain your policy on lateness is clear, along with your expectations. If you expect staffers to make up the time, make sure they all realize that.

It just could keep you from hearing any of these wild excuses in your own department.

Info: For the complete survey results, click www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=1%2f29%2f2015&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr866_&id=pr866&ed=12%2f31%2f2015