6/29/2012

Virtual Offices Help Keep You Honest About ‘Sick Days’

SANTA CLARA, CA—Yesterday, we looked at how virtual offices could help you avoid bad bosses. Now, we’ll dive deeper into that topic and also explore the most common excuses worker offer for not going to work.

A new Wakefield Research Study commissioned by Citrix offers up insights on the top frustrations of modern work life, which include annoying coworkers and bad bosses. The survey also shows just how creative workers are getting to avoid both. Could virtual offices set you free from the dishonesty and creativity?

Many people are getting more creative at avoiding their bosses. Thirty percent of office workers say they've scheduled time off around their bosses' vacation in order to maximize the time they won't have to spend together. This isn't just a junior-level ploy: 39 percent of executive and manager-level workers admit to this move compared to 27 percent of mid- and junior-level workers.

Of course, all bosses aren’t bad bosses. Many of us daydream about working for someone we've watched on television. Office workers would most like to work for Gibbs from "NCIS" (20 percent), Miranda Bailey from "Grey's Anatomy" (15 percent) and Buddy from "Cake Boss" (14 percent).

What do workers say when they are out? According to the survey, "I'm sick" continues to be a common excuse but office workers are getting especially creative about finding a way to avoid going in to the office. Here are just a few excuses according to survey respondents:

My bicycle ran out of gas
Gas is too expensive
I'm dieting
I drank too much Sunkist and was too tired to come in
I'm having toenail issues
My numerologist told me not to come in
It's Elvis' birthday
Dog sprayed by a skunk
All my clothes are in the washer right now, I have nothing to wear
I had to see where my gardener was really planting everything that I wanted and paid for
Stumbled on the love of my life

The point is, there’s no need to rearrange your vacation schedule or find other creative ways to avoid your bad boss. Why not, instead, use those energies to get your boss to see the value of letting you work from a virtual office one day a week?