World Cup Fever Rash Likely to be Phantom Sickie

There are plenty of survey's coming in indicating employers are concerned about a fall in productivity over the World Cup tournament, due to commence in the next few days. But will there really be a rash of sick-calls?

A survey out from Cisco, run by YouGov is a good example, but is by no means alone, in warning businesses how ill prepared they are for the wave of sick-days about to hit the country, because so few of them have made any provision for football-mad employees wanting to watch their teams compete in the beautiful game.

The survey of over 1,400 British male workers found 35 percent will try to reschedule meetings to leave time free to watch matches.

This research is backed up by a similar survey from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which found 40 percent of employers suspect staff will pretend to be ill to watch matches. It predicted £1bn of business could be lost as a result.

The Cisco survey identified food poisoning as the most favoured excuse for not coming into work.
However, the CMI warns employers fears could be unfounded. Its survey found work comes first for three out of five workers.

CMI CEO Ruth Spellman said rather than trying to curb World Cup fever, employers should embrace it as an opportunity to build morale.

It certainly appears that employees are conscious of how sickness absences impact on job security. A recent CBI/Pfizer survey found the average rate of absence in the UK has dropped to the lowest since 1987.

Senior HR staff surveyed suspected 15 percent of the 180 million sick days taken last year weren't genuine.

If you are thinking of throwing a sickie, or as a manager, need to watch out for employees taking unauthorised time off, here's some collected wisdom from assorted online forums:

• Food poisoning is indeed one of the more popular excuses for not coming in, because it's difficult to challenge and because it clears up quickly. This only works if used sparingly. No one is unlucky enough to get food poisoning more than once or twice a year.
• Other popular complaints, for similar reasons, are diarrhroea and conjunctivitis. For women only, non-specific female problems work a treat.
• Lying on your back with your head hanging over the end of the bed, so that your head fills with blood will make you sound bunged up and a bit spaced out when you ring in sick.
• Don't ring in sick and then go out where you are likely to be spotted by co-workers or managers -- keep a low profile.
• If you are planning to build up a good excuse, make-up, or the lack of it can make you look the right shade of off-colour. Some commentators recommend women going in without make-up to look ill, while men should consider a pale foundation and a little kohl around the eyes.
• Avoid any excuses that might have repercussions in the future. This includes deaths in the family, sick children or pets. You never know when you might really have to take time off for these reasons.

Have you heard or told a classic sick-day excuse? Let us know in a comment below.

(Pic: Ali Brohli cc2.0)