Late? Your boss won't believe your excuses
By
siliconindia | Friday, 20 November 2009, 07:59 IST

London: The next time you arrive late for work, don't start giving excuses to your boss, for a new study has found that employers don't believe excuses for not coming on time. The study involving 1,000 employers showed that just seven percent of them trusted the reasons that their employees give for being late.
One in five respondents said long, over-complicated stories were the biggest giveaway. Almost a third said avoiding eye contact was another hint. A fifth of bosses said hearing the same excuse again and again made it less convincing, while 12 percent said any excuses given on a Monday morning were even less believable. Nearly two-third of employers believe that they were experienced enough to tell when an employee is lying about why they were delayed.
The researchers also uncovered 10 weakest excuses. Topping the list was being unable to shut a window. Then came a broken burglar alarm followed by sick pets, spillages and, at number five, claiming to be snowed in. However, female employers were found to be more trusting, with eight percent fully believing the excuses staff give compared to just six percent of male bosses.
"As a nation, problems within our homes certainly seem to be a common reason given for lateness," the Daily Express quoted Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at UK based Esure Home Insurance, which compiled the study, as saying. "If we are to believe even half the excuses included in this study, then we anticipate a lot of calls about emergency home cover or claims for accidental damage this winter," he added.