HR Tip: Career Builder survey on sick time: December most popular month

If you think you have heard every excuse for calling in sick, you'll enjoy the CareerBuilder's This Year's Most Unbelievable Excuses for Calling in Sick. From waking up in a good mood and not wanting to ruin it to accidentally getting on a plane, employee creativity abounds.

While there is humor in the report, it also provides helpful information on industry breakdown, seasonality and social media. Not surprisingly, employee absentee rates seem to peak with flu season. December is the most popular time of year for employees to call in sick, according to 21 percent of employers, followed by January (17 percent) and February (14 percent).

Despite higher absentee rates during the holiday season, only eight percent of employees say they have ever faked being sick during this time. Of those who have, most did it to spend time with family and friends (69 percent), while others wanted to holiday shop or decorate for the season.

While there will always be off-the-wall excuses, written policies and rigid enforcement of call-in policies can help curb abuse.