Workers in London are the most likely to lie in order to take a sick day from work, with nearly two-thirds (64%) admitting to pulling a ‘sickie’ in the past, a recent study by office suppliers Viking has revealed.
The most common reasons for Londoners telling lies to get the day off work were going for a job interview (22%) and taking a day trip (16%).
The study involved comparing 15 UK cities to find out the most notorious liars in workplaces across the country. Manchester and Edinburgh closely followed London and came in second and third respectively. 60% of workers in the North-West city have lied in the past to get the day off sick, and 57% of those in the Scottish capital have done the same. The most honest city uncovered by the research was Liverpool, with just 37% pulling a sickie in the past.
The survey asked 2,000 UK workers how honest they are when it comes to office sickness, and if they feel under any pressure to avoid taking time off. The cities with the highest percentage of workers who’ve pulled a sickie are listed below:
| City | % |
| London | 64.4 |
| Manchester | 60 |
| Edinburgh | 57.1 |
| Birmingham | 56.1 |
| Belfast | 54.9 |
| Bristol | 54.2 |
| Cardiff | 53.1 |
| Newcastle | 53 |
| Sheffield | 52 |
| Leeds | 51.1 |
While learning which cities lie the most to get days off work, Viking’s study also revealed the reasoning behind their lies. Respondents in Leeds were the most likely to skive simply because they didn’t feel like going to work that day, with 18% saying they’d done this. Belfast were the most notorious liars when it came to taking the day off for a hangover (16%), and workers in Bristol are the most likely to pull a sickie to catch up on a TV series (15%).
Despite the data showing that lying to take a sick day is a regular occurrence in UK offices, it also revealed that many of the UK workforce feel under pressure to avoid taking sick days from work. With reasons such as stress about their workload, pressure from their manager and anxiety caused by phoning in sick all causing workers to force themselves into the office.
