Forty per cent of UK office workers have pretended to be sick at least once during the last year, according to a recent survey by office design company Maris Interiors.

The most common excuses given for missing work were cough/flu (24 per cent), stomach upset (18 per cent) and minor injuries (seven per cent).

Twelve per cent of those questioned admitted to doing groundwork prior to taking a sick day – by mentioning some fake symptoms the day before. And British are a lot lazier than their friends across the pond: A similar survey conducted in 2008 in the US showed only a third of US employees admit faking illness to miss work.