Clark Howard's Tips

Only 1/3 of workers who call in are really sick

October 5, 2005

How often have you called in "sick" when really you weren't ill at all?

Well, it's the time of year when it happens most often.

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Employees aren't losing sleep over it though. Why? Because we feel entitled, according to the research group CCH.

Only one in three days are people really sick when they bag out on work, the survey shows. That means that two out of three sick days the person isn't sick at all.

Clark has heard people use the term "mental health day." But sick days are for when we're sick. A number of employers have started offering generic "time off" instead of specific sick days or vacation days. People can use the days for whatever they want.

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