Survey Finds Over a Quarter of Germans Have Faked Sick Leave

A YouGov poll reveals 29% of respondents have called in sick without being ill, with some facing job loss as a consequence.

The YouGov survey, conducted among 2,045 participants, found that 29% admitted to faking sick leave at least once in their lives.
Of those who had faked illness, 62% said their last instance occurred over a year ago, while 20% had done so in the past year.
A small percentage, 11%, reported faking sick two to five times in the past year, and 2% admitted to doing so more than five times.
Nearly 90% of those who faked sick leave avoided detection, but 10% were caught, with 25% of them losing their jobs as a result.
The survey also noted no strong preference for specific days to fake illness, though Mondays and Fridays were slightly more common.