10 weird excuses workers use when late to work

Story by Career Builder
Written by Justin Thompson

If you're like me, there are days when you hit the snooze button on your alarm or phone at least 27 times. Eventually you get up, throw on some clothes without the pretense that it's actually an outfit and slink into work, as if you've been there the last hour.
Sure, we've all had rough mornings, and sometimes the weirdest things do happen that prevent us from getting to work on time. I've walked all the way to the train station, only to realize I didn't have my fare card. That was an extra 20 minutes lost. But never have I blamed my tardiness on my cat's hiccups, but apparently some people have. Poor kitty.

A new CareerBuilder survey revealed that sixteen percent of workers reported arriving late to work at least once a week or more, up slightly from last year. In addition, more workers said they arrived late to work at least once a month, with 27 percent admitting to being tardy.

So what were some of the other crazy excuses that hiring managers shared with us? Read on, faithful The Work Buzz follower:

1. Employee thought she had won the lottery (she didn't).
2. Employee got distracted watching the "Today" show.
3. Employee's angry roommate cut the cord to his phone charger, so it didn't charge and his alarm didn't go off.
4. Employee believed his commute time should count toward his work hours.
5. Employee claimed a fox stole her car keys.
6. Employee's leg was trapped between the subway car and the platform (turned out to be true).
7. Employee said he wasn't late, because he had no intention of getting to work before 9:00 a.m. (his start time was 8:00 a.m.)
8. Employee was late because of a job interview with another company.
9. Employee had to take a personal call from the state governor (turned out to be true).

Traffic, sleep schedules and weather conditions are the top three causes for late arrivals to the office, according to workers:

• Traffic -- 31 percent of workers
• Lack of sleep -- 18 percent
• Bad weather -- 11 percent
• Getting kids to school or daycare -- 8 percent

Other frequent reasons that were reported had to do with public transportation delays, pets, spouses, watching TV and Internet usage.

In today's workplace, most employers are flexible with worker schedules and start times, but it's still important to remember that excessive tardiness can lead to termination. More than one-third of employers said they fired an employee for continuously showing up to work late.

"Punctuality -- or lack thereof -- can impact how your commitment, reliability and performance are perceived by your employer," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. "One of the best ways to make sure you get to work on time is to get organized and plan ahead. Lay out whatever you'll need for the workday the night before, plan to be at the office early, account for expected commute delays and eliminate distractions in your morning routine."