There is no worse feeling than waking up in the morning, rested from good night’s sleep, and glancing at the clock, only to do a double-take: You’re late! Jumping up from the bed you throw on the closest (hopefully cleanest) clothes in your path and proceed to drive to work drag race-style checking the clock every thirty seconds. The moment you reach the office it’s time for the infamous excuse: “My dog died”, “I took a wrong turn”, “Oh my goodness I forgot I was suppose to work today!” you are reduced to feeling two feet tall, stumbling over your words and vowing to wake up three hours early the next morning.

If you tend to suffer from a lack of punctuality, you’re not alone. According to a recent article by Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com, one-in-ten workers — 13 percent — say they arrive late to work at least once a week and 24 percent say they arrive late at least once a month.

MSN conducted a poll of average employees to investigate the biggest causes of workplace tardiness. Here’s what workers said:

· Twenty-seven percent of workers blamed traffic.

· Ten percent pointed to getting their kids ready for school or day care.

· Eleven percent said falling back asleep was the main culprit.

· Other popular reasons: forgetting something at home, feeling sick and misplacing house or car keys.

Not all excuses were so practical however, twenty percent of workers admitted to making up fake excuses to explain their tardiness. Hiring managers provided the following 10 examples of the most unusual excuses employees offered for arriving late to work:

1. I dreamed that I was fired, so I didn’t bother to get out of bed.
2. I had to take my cat to the dentist.
3. I went all the way to the office and realized I was still in my pajamas and had to go home to change.
4. I saw that you weren’t in the office, so I went out looking for you.
5. I couldn’t find the right tie, so I had to wait for the stores to open so I could buy one.
6. My son tried to flush our ferret down the toilet and I needed to tend to the ferret.
7. I ran over a goat.
8. I stopped for a bagel sandwich, the store was robbed and the police required everyone to stay for questioning.
9. A bee flew in my car and attacked me and I had to pull over.
10. I wet my pants and went home to change.

While the majority of bosses tend to be lenient if employees occasionally run late, others are much stricter in their policies. Thirty percent of hiring managers say they don’t care if their employees come in late as long as their work is completed on time with good quality. Be warned: One-in-ten hiring managers say they would consider terminating an employee if he/she arrives late once or twice in a given year; and one-in-five say a pink slip may be in order if an employee is late three times in a year. (msn.careerbuilder.com)

So think twice the next time you decide to sleep just ten more minutes. Arriving late to work is ultimately unprofessional and disrespectful. And while the majority of bosses don’t typically question the validity of the reasons provided, 35 percent say most of the time they don’t believe the excuses.