Six out of ten adults admit to having taken a "sickie" to attend a job interview.
Faking the death of a friend has been used as an excuse by almost one in five workers, according to a survey of 1,000 adults by on-line jobs search firm Fish4Jobs.
Half of employers suspect that a member of staff who phones in sick is likely to be attending an interview for a new job.
"With our recent research showing that 23% of workers are intending to look for a new job in January, these latest findings indicate that the resulting interview appointments will mean that sick days taken this month will be at an all-time high," said Fish4Jobs spokesman Jonathan Lines.
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