Headaches are a popular excuse to miss work, study shows
Claiming to have a migraine headache is one of the most popular excuses for missing work, according to a new UK survey. In the YouGov poll of 2,105 workers, 15 per cent who admitted to faking illness said they used migraine as their excuse, the BBC reports. For people who do suffer from the potentially debilitating headaches, this raises the concern they might not be trusted: 28 per cent worried their boss wouldn’t believe them if they took time off due to a migraine, and 21 per cent thought their colleagues would assume it was just an excuse to take a day off. One third felt like they were letting their colleagues down. Maybe migraine sufferers have good reason to be nervous: 29 per cent of respondents said they’d be suspicious if a colleague missed work due to a migraine, and 17 per cent felt frustrated they’d have to work harder if a colleague missed work due to a migraine. “Migraine is a debilitating condition and people who are fortunate enough not to suffer sometimes underestimate how unwell a sufferer can feel during an attack, often meaning they are unable to carry on as normal and have no choice but to put life, including work, on hold until they feel better,” Dr. Dawn Harper, a general practitioner, told the BBC.