Human Resources: I can't come in today - God didn't wake me and I forgot I'm getting married

According to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com, 43 per cent of US workers called in sick when there was nothing at all wrong with them. This is a rise of 8 per cent on last year.

Some of the reasons given were:

"I was too drunk to drive to work"

"I forgot I was getting married today."

"God didn't wake me."

Apparently Wednesday is the most popular day to take off as managers are more suspicious of those who "throw a sickie" on a Monday or Friday.

On the subject of "sickies", one Australian travel company carries ads advising people on how to sound convincing when calling in sick. It's the same company that advertised special deals for "tight-ass Tuesday."

Obviously their advice went unheeded by one girl I supervised. Her phone call sounded pretty convincing - until the airport PA system started calling passengers for a flight to Brisbane.

And yes - I did turn a blind eye!