January 3, 2007
Sick Days
In a recent survey 32 percent of office workers admitted to faking illness to take a day off. Almost half gave the reason as “the need to relax.” The same survey found women are 50 percent more likely to give a bogus excuse for a sick day as a man. Some of the best excuses in 2006 were (according to Careerbuilder.com):
• “I was in jail and couldn’t call in.”
• “I had a fight with my husband and I wanted to talk to him when he gets home.”
• “A buffalo that had escaped from a game reserve kept charging at me every time I tried to get to my car.”
• “My mother-in-law poisoned me.”
• “I’m morning sickness like my wife.”
• “A skunk got in my house and sprayed all my work clothes.”
• “A severe case of the hiccups.”
• “I blew my nose so hard that my back went out.”
• “My dog ate my bus pass.”
• “I broke my leg while snow boarding off the roof while I was drunk.”
• “I’m sad today.”
• “My boyfriend’s snake got loose and I’m afraid to leave the bedroom until he gets home.”
• “The ghosts in my house kept me up all night.”
• “God didn’t wake me up.” Employment Growth in 2007
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation Report predicts almost a one-third employment growth in the service sectors for January 2007 compared to January 2006. Yet, new hire compensation expectations (the amount paid to a new hire compared to existing salaries for that type of position) actually show a slight decrease. Interestingly, salaries are not tracking the difficulty firms are encountering in finding qualified candidates to fill vacant positions. According to the report:
“The Recruiting Difficulty Index measures how difficult it is for firms to recruit “A” candidates to fill their “A” positions, i.e., to recruit highly qualified applicants to fill those positions that are of greatest strategic importance to their firms…Within the service sector, the Index has climbed from 16.9 in December 2005 to 22.3 in December 2006…vacancies remain extremely difficult to fill and firms continue to report that it is very difficult to recruit “A” candidates to fill their “A” positions.” A World Gone Mad
We always devote the first issue of Recruiting Trends in a new year to the most bizarre HR issues of the previous year. There was no shortage of material in 2006. The best are:
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Group birthday cards have been banned by a professional service firm in England due to a fear that the firm could be sued for fostering age inappropriate comments that employees often jokingly add to such cards.
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Ford and DaimlerChrysler prohibit parking non-Ford or DamilerChrysler automobiles in company parking lots unless an employee has a valid reason. Reportedly an employee who sought a waiver because “Toyota makes better cars” was not given a space.
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A California firm used spankings as a motivational technique. A woman was awarded $1.7 million after she was publicly spanked on three separate occasions.
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A woman whose chair made “flatulating” noises, resigned when the employer refused to replace the chair. The woman then sued for unfair constructive dismissal and sexual discrimination.
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