Late-For-Work Excuses: the Good, the Bad, the Idiotic

So you overslept, can't find your favorite sweater, and you've been daydreaming about bumping into that hottie from the 8th floor. Bottom line: you are running seriously late for work.

Since none of the above exactly qualifies as a great excuse for tardiness, you need to get creative. Here are some fab suggestions from MSN.com:

~I had to audition for American Idol
~I was busy being indicted
or my personal fave...
~my route to work was cut off by a presidential motorcade

Apparently these are real life examples of some of the whoppers managers have been fed, and according to the article 24% of employees choose a fib over the truth when explaining away their lateness.

Which is stupid, because in many cases managers don't mind if you're late occasionally, as long as you meet your deadlines and produce consistently good work. I can really identify with this-- my husband and I have been known to be a smidge late at times.

Exhibit A: One of my husband's former employers offered a $25 monthly bonus to every employee that had a perfect attendance record, plus a $100 yearly bonus if you managed that all year. That works out to $400/year extra, which apparently did not sound like a whole lot to my husband because he never cashed in on any of it. One month, he was late 17 times (it was always only by 5-10 minutes) so his boss called him in for a "pep talk".

"There was only one other person who had this many lates in a single month... and we fired him."

My husband simply smiled and explained that he's not a morning person, he stays 1 or 2 hours late every day and delivers on all his projects. His manager made a weak attempt to encourage his future promptness and let it go. When my husband moved on to another job a year later, he received an excellent reference.

Lesson learned: Be honest. Your manager isn't an idiot and won't buy a complex excuse. Also, he/she doesn't care why you're late, just that you are. Deliver on your assignments and make up the time consistently.

Exhibit B: I was working night shift full-time at a bakery plus part-time at a grocery store while supporting my husband's studies. Understandably, I was seriously sleep deprived. One day I missed my alarm and was jarred awake by the phone. My manager at the store was calling to see why I wasn't there. In my half-awake state, I mumbled something about not being able to drive my scooter in the thunderstorm and I'd be in when the weather cleared.

She put me on hold, looked outside (I assume), and asked: "What thunderstorm?"

I was starting to come out of my fog and hastily said I'd be there as soon as possible. By the time I got to work I had forgotten all about it (sleepnesia, I figured). Later, my boss found me in the break room and asked about the confusion. Suddenly the entire conversation came back to me, and I stammered out the bald truth about having been still asleep while on the phone. I must have been dreaming the storm. A moment's pause, and then she began to howl with laughter. Other coworkers came in and were told the story in laughing gasps. It was embarrassing, but I laughed it off and it was never an issue. I should add that my manager knew I was working nights too, and so she never questioned my story.

Lesson learned: Again, be honest even if the truth is embarrassing. At least in my case, the excuse was perfectly plausible. Plus, if you're going to use such a complicated excuse, it'd better be the truth or you'll never keep your facts straight on redirect.

Have you ever fibbed and been caught? What was your most creative excuse? Tell us your story in the comments!

Career Satisfaction: Are you there yet?

We recently posted a poll on our homepage about job satisfaction. Do you love your job, hate it or are you currently working towards your career utopia? 25% of you said you hate your job or are totally indifferent about it (equally bad in our books), 20% said you are in your dream career and 55% said you are still working towards it. So essentially only 20% of us are truly happy where we are while the rest feel there is a long way to go. Obviously part of that has to do with age and what stage you are in life and with your career.

5 years ago, I would have been in the I-hate-my-job camp. I spent over 4 years as a professional insurance claims adjuster. Telling that to people generally makes their eyes glaze over or change the subject. Yes, I was the person telling you your car is worth $5000 less than you thought it was and that your broken arm from that slip and fall in the grocery store is not worth 1 MILLION! Dollars. (You'd be surprised how many people think a bruise is worth just that much in our litigious society.)

While many of my coworkers enjoyed handling claims, I was really depressed that my life would be spent evaluating injuries and assigning fault to car crashes. I wanted to do something fun and creative. I found myself stuck in a rut. I knew I didn't want to do what I was doing, but I couldn't afford to leave. I wasn't making enough money to take 6 months off to hunt for a new job. I got to the point where I felt like I wasn't even me anymore and knew I had to break out. I started socking away as much of my paycheque as I could every month, planning my escape. Luckily I met my extremely supportive husband, Alex, during this time who told me to stop being so cautious and just quit already. What's the worst that could happen?

It's been almost 4 years since I quit that job and I am so glad I did. I went back to school (thank you OSAP and Canadian Millenium Excellence Awards!) and Alex and I launched ChickAdvisor last fall. My career has taken me in areas I never would have imagined. Me + Internet would have seemed impossible 4 years ago given that one of my favorite rants was, "I HATE technology!"

I can honestly say I am totally thrilled with my career path. I've never had less sleep, money or free time, but I've never been happier professionally. Turns out I love the internet. I also love being able to make my own show, which has been a life long dream.

If you have a passion for something, go after it with all of your heart. You will do so much better in something you love than something that just "pays the bills". I truly believe each of us have a specific job to do with our lives. It is different for everyone and it is just a matter of figuring out what that is and then doing it to the best of your ability. If you live poor for a few months, who cares? If you go broke, it isn't the end of the world. In the end, wouldn't you rather say, "I tried but I failed" than "I wonder what would have happened if..."? Ideally you'd like to say " I tried and I succeeded."

Chances are, if you are intelligently pursuing your passion that's exactly what you'll be able to say.