Far Out Friday: I'm running late because ...

Believe it or not an escaped zebra, a cat stuck in the toilet and a brush caught in hair are actual excuses staff have fabricated to explain their tardiness.

A new survey by CareerBuilder into staff lateness shows that while traffic is the number one reason most employees are late (39 per cent), there are some amusing reasons dished out to managers.

Some of the more memorable excuses employers reported receiving for their staff's failed punctuality:

• A zebra was running down the highway and held up traffic (turned out to be true)
• Employee woke up on the front lawn of a house two blocks away from his home
• Cat got stuck in the toilet
• Employee ran out of milk for cereal and had to buy some before getting ready for work
• Employee fell asleep in the car when he got to work
• Employee accidentally used superglue instead of contact lens solution, and had to go to emergency.
• A leak in the roof caused rain to compromise the alarm clock and it didn’t go off
• Employee forgot that the company had changed locations
• Employee got a brush stuck in her hair
• Employee was scared by a nightmare

Aside from traffic jams, more traditional excuses found to be among the most common by the survey were; lack of sleep (19 per cent), problems with public transportation (eight per cent), bad weather (seven per cent) and dropping the kids off at day-care or school (six per cent).

The study also found that nearly one quarter (23 per cent) of employees admit to being tardy at least once a month on average, with 15 per cent admitting to arriving late at least once a week. 

Tell WP the lamest excuse you've heard for tardiness in the comment box below.

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