In the past year, 38% of employees called in to work sick when they were feeling well, up from 28% last year, according to a CareerBuilder survey.

The survey found 52% of employees have a paid time off program that allows them to use their time off however they choose, however, 27% of those workers said they still feel obligated to make up an excuse for taking a day off.

Of the employees who have called in sick when feeling well in the past year, 27% said they had a doctor’s appointment, the same proportion said they just didn’t feel like going, And 26% said they needed to relax, 21% said they needed to catch up on sleep and 12% blamed bad weather.

Employers reported the following real-life examples when asked to share the most memorable excuses for workplace absences:

• Employee claimed his grandmother poisoned him with ham.
• Employee was stuck under the bed.
• Employee broke his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.
• Employee said the universe was telling him to take a day off.
• Employee’s wife found out he was cheating. He had to spend the day retrieving his belongings from the dumpster.
• Employee poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.
• Employee said his wife put all his underwear in the washer.
• Employee said the meal he cooked for a department potluck didn’t turn out well.
• Employee was going to the beach because the doctor said she needed more vitamin D.
• Employee said her cat was stuck inside the dashboard of her car.

While most employers claim to trust their employees, 33% of employers reported they have checked to see if an employee was telling the truth after calling in sick this year, a slight increase from 31% in last year’s survey. Of these employers, they survey found 67% asked to see a doctor’s note, followed by 49% who called the employee and 32% who checked the employee’s social media posts; 22% have fired an employee for calling in sick with a fake excuse, up from 18% in last year’s survey.