Over a third (37%) of pet owners admitted that they have lied to their boss about taking time off work to nurse a poorly pet, research from Admiral Pet insurance has revealed.
20% of people surveyed used gave the excuse that they were looking after a sick family member, whilst one in 10 (11%) of pet owners told their boss that they were sick rather than their pet.
Other excuses given to bosses for taking time off work to look after a sick pet included, looking after a sick child, attending a hospital appointment and claiming their car had broken down.
Some pet owners even took the day off as annual leave but “didn’t tell anyone why,” with 43% admitting that, and 25% said that they would take leave if their pet fell ill.
Research suggests that men are more likely to lie about taking time off to comfort a sick pet and lie about the reason than women, whilst the younger generation are more likely to lie about their pets, with 65% admitting to lying to their employer about it.
While almost half of pet owners have taken time off work after their pet passed away, 71% of pet owners lied about why they were not at work, as 20% of people revealed they were “embarrassed” and 30% said it was because their boss wouldn’t be “happy or understand.”
Some 39% of pet owners also admitted taking three or more days to settle in their pet, and half of the pet owners surveyed think employers should offer “pet-ernity leave” for employees to help their newest addition to the family settle in.
Sian Humphreys, head of pet insurance at Admiral said: “For many people, their pets are as important to them as their family members, so it’s understandable they want time off to care for them when they’re sick.
“It’s a shame so many pet owners feel like they have to lie to their boss about why they need to take time away from work. You’d hope that most employers would be sympathetic and be flexible with people who need to look after their poorly animals so they wouldn’t need to lie.”
