It's time to celebrate one of the biggest holidays in the employment calendar; National Sickie Day. *Tosses confetti*
We figured it's time to do some healthy digging and find out what gems people were using to call in sick to work, and we also desired to know the dumbest excuses too. Natural curiosity gets the better of us…
Employment Law Experts (ELAS) are saying that the estimated number of employees calling in sick in 2017 on National Sickie Day was… wait for it…350,000 WORKERS. Wow.
Why is the first week of February just too unbearable for everyone to face their jobs? A combination of factors are predicted, such as the first weekend after Dry January and the first post-Christmas pay-day.
ELAS have also predicted that National Sickie Day will cost the British economy around £45 million (€51.3 million), due to hours lost, wages and overtime. Good God, that's a LOT of wasted labour.
According to a survey by AXA PPP, using the flu excuse seemed to be satisfactory for four out of 10 bosses. However, eight percent of managers weren't convinced by a single one of the nine 'best excuses' listed below…
The number one excuse for ringing in sick (according to the boss) was the flu, with back pain coming in second, and injury caused by accident in third place.
Stress, elective surgery, depression, anxiety, common cold and migraine finished up the top nine, with 'none of the above' in 10th place, meaning there were some other crackers outside of the top 10 that we just NEED to hear.
According to ELAS, the absolute WORST excuses in 2016 for missing work were:
“My only pair of work trousers is in the wash”, “It’s my dog’s birthday and I need to arrange a party for him”, “The dog ate my shoes”, “I got arrested”, “I lost my PPE”, and of course; “I stayed out partying last night and haven’t had any sleep”.
Classic. Other contenders were; “My friend is on annual leave so I can’t get a lift”, “I have no way to get to work” and “My wife earns more than me so I have to look after the kids”
Ah lads, you've got to do better than that. A bit of creativity would go a long way with that lot…
Megan Barton Hanson has expressed via social media that the days since her break up with boyfriend Wes Nelson have been anything but easy.
The social media star has been battling her anxiety since their public split.
On her Instagram stories, Megan released a statement of hope, after feeling 'housebound.'
Describing her week, Megan detailed how it was filled with 'endless trolling, negative stories, dealing with publicly breaking up, being papped' and 'having to force a smile when my whole world is crumbling.'
However, Megan said that the messages of support she has received from her followers have given her hope and inspiration.
'Feels like I can't put a foot right BUT knowing I can help motivate/inspire people even a tiny bit makes me want to continue on in the public eye.'
She shared screen shots of some of the messages she has received from fans, with one saying:
'After watching you, you've made me feel more confident about my body (I also have many curves) and about my feelings (I struggle with bouts of anxiety as well). Your personality has pushed me to be up front with my feelings.'
Megan then shared a video of the custom-made cheese board engraved with her and Wes' names, saying 'mum got me and Wes a cheese board for Christmas after our cheese and wine night but I didn't even get a chance to use it.'
'At least these cheese tools can come in handy,’ she added, scraping over her ex's name.
Selena Gomez has been keeping a very low-profile of late, only recently making a quiet return to her social media stage.
The 26-year-old Come and Get It singer is coming back to our Spotify playlists this year, collaborating with Julia Michaels on her upcoming EP track Anxiety.
While the rest of us spent our weekends in a burrito blanket, bingeing Sex Education on Netflix, Selena was throwing her BFF a BRIDAL SHOW from heaven.
"The way you handle life’s most confusing moments is indescribable and graceful. You are moved by the littlest stories to the most heartbreaking ones, you will give someone your perfume if they say you smell nice, you are freaking hilarious and always stand firm in your faith, a loving sister, an amazing friend and a beautiful daughter."
"You are the definition of FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made baby!"
Selena has taken time out from the spotlight after continuous physical and mental health issues, we can't wait to see what 2019 has in store for the gal.
Hopefully she has found the help she needs and deserves, it looks like she's got a wonderful bunch of pals around her.
Paris Jackson, daughter of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson, is seeking treatment for issues relating to her emotional and mental health.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Paris is currently living in a mental health facility following a whirlwind year of work engagements, new music releases, photoshoots and public appearances.
A source spoke to ET, saying; "After a busy year of work engagements that took her all over the globe, Paris decided that she needed to take some time off to reboot, realign and prioritize her physical and emotional health."
"She checked herself into a treatment facility to aid in her wellness plan and is looking forward to coming out of this revitalized and ready to tackle the exciting new projects that await her," the insider added.
The young model suddenly ceased sharing any images on social media from the middle of December, and failed to join her family on holiday in Toyka over Christmas.
This is an unusual move for the star, who is very close with her younger brothers especially. Her followers then began to speculate that her mental health may have been suffering.
The 20-year old has had a manic year career-wise, and had to face the heartbreaking death of her grandfather Joe Jackson.
She has been hugely sought after in the fashion world, and since her Hollywood debut, it's apparent that the youngster is a new 'It Girl' on the scene.
Paris last hit the headlines in September 2018 for calling out paparazzi who were verbally attacking her as she left a New York Fashion Week event.
She has regularly discussed her struggles with self-confidence and depression, which drove her to attempt to commit suicide for the first time when she was only 13-years-old.
She later attempted to take her own life again aged 15 multiple times, leading her to enter a therapeutic school;
"I was going through a lot of, like, teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help," she told Rolling Stone in 2017.
With the current charged political climate of #MeToo, which is bringing issues of consent, sexual violence, abuse and harassment to light on a daily basis, it's the PERFECT time for a show like Sex Education.
Netflix' new series is already critically acclaimed with it's standout teenage characters, incredible acting talents and refreshing humour, but what's just as important is the need to face sexuality and it's trials and tribulations at a young age.
The show is tackling imperative issues and somehow manages to be laugh-out-loud funny at the same time, how does it achieve this unique, charming quality?
Sex Education follows Otis Milburn, a socially awkward but sweet-natured sixteen-year-old (Asa Butterfield) and his sex therapist mother, played by the amazing Gillian Anderson.
Otis' school life is filled with iconic characters like Eric Effiong (Ncuti Gatwa), the most GAS LGBT+ character of all time, and misunderstood punk and resident badass Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey).
Middle finger Maeve= our 2019 mood. You heard it here first:
After discovering his penchant for giving responsible and understanding sex advice, Maeve 'complex female characters' Wiley encourages Otis to set up his own teen sex clinic for some quick cash, and the results are HILARIOUS.
Among the vital topics faced with beautiful skill are abortion, transphobia, homophobia, mental health, consent, contaception, racism, sexism and toxic masculinity; we're in awe of episode three and the emotional rollercoaster of teenage life, told with humour and care.
Here are the best memes and reactions online to our new favourite binge-worthy show, PRAY FOR SEASON TWO IMMEDIATELY.
1. How pure Eric and Otis' friendship is:
Otis and Eric’s friendship on Sex Education is such a wonderful, healthy, and pure example of male friendships. There is no weird toxic masculinity bullshit or homophobia. Just pure love. pic.twitter.com/PKR3xrF8Ki
Wow #SexEducation really gave us the most layered and complex characterization of a gay teen of color!! He wasn’t there for comedy relief or for tokenism. He had his own storyline and grew into this BEAUTIFUL, FIERCE, and joy-spreading angel
Hailey Bieber has anxieties, just like the rest of us.
The model and new wifey to Justin Bieber himself opened up to her fans via her Instagram account last night, vowing to get far more open about her troubles online.
"Stepping into 2019 I want to be more open, I want to be more open about the things I struggle with, and be able to be more vulnerable," she described in the post, below.
Hailey's honesty revolves around her self-esteem, describing how every single day is a "confidence battle";
"I have had more days than I can count where I’ve found myself scrolling through Instagram comparing myself, comparing my looks, feeling like I’m not good enough feeling like I lack so many things and really struggling to be confident in who I am because I constantly feel like I’m just not good enough."
"I'm a human.. I'm a young woman, I'm learning who I am and, it's REALLY FREAKING HARD. It's hard finding who you are, but what's even harder is being picked apart and compared to other women while trying to do that," she opined.
Hailey explained at the conclusion of her post that she's not "writing this for a pity party," rather for her fans to see their own beauty inside and out.
"It would be incredible if other young girls and women could find it in themselves to lift each other up, to stop making other women who are struggling JUST LIKE THEM, feel incompetent and less than," she asked for her fans to see the positive side.
"We ALL have flaws, and that will never change. What I do know is, God made us individuals for a reason, with our own beauty, our own personalities, and our own story because there's a specific plan and purpose for each and every human created and he makes no mistakes!!"
The famous model has taken social media breaks before, as well as opening up about the difficulties of Instagram negativity and trolling;
"Whenever I take breaks from it I feel so much better so much happy as a person.. the second I come back on I get immediate anxiety, I get sad and I get worked up," she typed in one of the images.
The constant media attention and focus on her appearance unsurprisingly takes its toll.
Baldwin has spoken about the impact of social media on her relationship to Sorry singer Justin Bieber;
"It's hard to focus on your well being and mental health when each time you open Instagram someone is tearing apart your job, or your relationship or essentially any of the things in your life that are positive."
She finished, "I won't let people make me feel like I'm doing something wrong by enjoying my life and being happy."
You go girl, everyone deserves to feel confident and positive in their own skin, no matter how big a celebrity they are.
Scrolling through Instagram is just one of our many online hobbies, and seeing the lives of others through a digitally altered snapshot has become the norm.
Instagram has been named as the worst social media site in terms of its impact on mental health.
A new study by The Royal Society for Public Health has found that the photo filtering app is the most negative in terms of people's body image, FOMO and sleep, and that it can trigger feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness.
'Social media has become a space in which we form and build relationships, shape self-identity, express ourselves, and learn about the world around us; it is intrinsically linked to mental health,' said Shirley Cramer of the RSPH.
However, the survey of 1,479 youngsters aged 14 to 24, found Instagram was positive in terms of self-expression and self-identity.
YouTube, with its communal attitude and diverse range of content was ranked as the most positive when it came to mental health.
The video platform is followed by Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat in that order.
The RSPH is calling for the introduction of a pop-up heavy usage warning on social media: 'The social media platform would track usage and provide the user with a pop-up warning when they breach a set level of usage deemed potentially harmful.'
'It is then up to the user to decide if they carry on using the platform or stop, although the warning may provide links to information and advice on social media addiction,' reads the report.
They also want social media platforms to highlight when photos of people have been digitally manipulated on photo sharing sites.
'This may be in the form of a small icon or watermark at the bottom of someone’s photo that indicates an airbrush or filter has been used that may have significantly altered their appearance.'
'Young people, and in particular young women, are bombarded with images that attempt to pass off the edited off as the norm,' said the study.
'This practice is contributing to a generation of young people with poor body image and body confidence.'
Emily Warren’s Not Ready to Dance perfectly sums up what it’s like to deal with heartbreak.
In a recent interview, the Grammy-award winner opened up about her experience with post-break up blues and anxiety attacks.
Originally writing for other artists like The Chainsmokers, Emily had kept a few songs to herself that she felt were “too personal to give away.”
In Not Ready to Dance, the song is written from the perspective of a girl whose relationship just ended and is exploring the possibility of moving on. But she just cannot reach happiness, no matter how close she is to attaining it.
“He is my chance”, she sings, “and I’m not ready to dance. I wanted to but I just don’t think that I can.”
Emily said that she penned this song during her own struggle:
“You make an effort to get over something and say ‘okay, im not gonna be sad anymore’ and you go 90 percent of the way. Then at the last 10 percent, you’re just like ‘I cannot do this yet’.
“I’m constantly figuring out,” the singer confessed. But eventually after repeated times of trying to move on after a hardship, Emily had an epiphany.
For her, she had to realise that “it’s a choice”.
“I’ve kept that in mind a lot with everything this album [Quiet Your Mind] is about. You can always mope around and be sad about it forever, but at a certain point it is your call to decide you’re not gonna do that anymore.
“At least, it has been for me. I used to get into the habit of whenever I was really upset or sad about something I’d want to talk to everyone about it constantly. It was endlessly perpetuating it for me versus just deciding that today, I’m not gonna bring it up and gonna put my mind elsewhere.
“It’s an attempt to make myself feel better, even if it doesn’t go the whole way, it’s the effort" that is the hardest part.
The talented singer was able to combat her melancholy with a combination of a positive mindset and daily choices.
However, as we all know, this is easier said than done. How does one find a foothold amidst the earth crumbling around them? So, I asked Emily how she overcame this and channelled her thinking to be more positive.
“I had really severe anxiety and panic attacks last year,” the New Rules writer explained.
“It felt like it was never gonna stop. And eventually it did. And knowing that I could work through something like that and knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel was a really cool lesson for me to learn.
“Because it’s okay to be sad. Someone told me recently ‘you have to feel it to heal it’, and I really believe in crying and getting it out. I know that time can get me out of anything, so it’s just about being patient with that.
“As sad as you are, you’re not gonna be sad forever.”
She is a strong believer that time heals all wounds – but not completely. Getting over something that shatters your world to pieces is a long and painful process.
Emily said a big part of her moving on was rediscovering her self-confidence and drawing on that to conquer each day at a time.
“My brother taught me when I was little that ‘confidence is attractive’ and that really got into my head,” she said. “After a couple times of being confident, trying something and seeing how well it works, you kinda just get yourself into it.
“People are what they describe themselves as. So, if you call yourself lame and say you’ll never amount to anything then you’ll become that person. But if you see yourself how you want to be, that’s who you are.
“People can only view you the way you view yourself.”
In today’s world, it is so hard for women to find this self-confidence within themselves, and Emily agreed that it was a daily struggle for her as well.
But she said that if you take this extra step to live each day proud of who you are then you can “unlock your life”. It’s like writing music, she explained.
“If you trust your instincts when you’re writing a song, if you trust your instincts when you’re quitting a job, if you trust your instincts in a relationship and not worry what other people are gonna think and just follow your gut – you’re rewarded for taking risks.
“I’ve found that time and time again with myself as an artist, as a songwriter and as a person.
Doing the thing that’s bubbling up inside of you even if it seems crazy is always rewarded.”
Being more confident will lead to trusting these instincts more often and making choices that put your own happiness first and foremost.
Emily’s new album discusses these struggles along with the difficulty of dating in the modern world. Called Quiet Your Mind, it is available on Spotify.
It is important to note, the singer said, that the last word of Not Ready to Dance is 'yet'. Eventually, you'll get there.
For many suffering with their mental health, World Mental Health Day ois just another day – because your mental health doesn't stop to reflect on itself just because the world is raising awareness for it.
However, many celebrities and influencers are taking the opportunity today to share their tales of mental illness, and former The Saturday's band member Frankie Bridge did just that.
The talented singer and mum of two took to Instagram to give her almost 1 million followers an insight into a dark time she struggled with during her time in the 00s girl group.
The band defined an era of pop music for their young fans, but Frankie revealed that some days, she faced an uphill battle with her emotions despite her roaring success.
'Most of you will probably look at this picture and just see two good friends walking along holding hands… but the truth is she was practically holding me up… we’d just done a gig that I had forced myself to be “Frankie from The Saturdays” for. I had got to the hotel that morning. Shut all the curtains. Got into bed. Under the covers and sobbed for hours alone,' she wrote.
'It felt an effort to breathe. To be alive. Let alone to get on a stage. Paint on a smile and dance and sing to happy songs!'
'This was one of the first times my anxiety and depression had become so out of control that I couldn’t hide it from the people around me anymore… none of us ever really know what others are going through and a picture doesn’t always speak a thousand words… especially these days!'
'Remember youre not alone and things aren’t always what they seem….'
Her Instagram stories are bursting with her cleaning regimes. – She takes a space and shows the process step by step, so you too can recreate a flawless living space.
Her 331K followers have now started to call themselves the 'Hinch Army' and use #HinchArmy to show off their results, thanks to Mrs Hinch's tips.
The woman behind the sparking floors and immaculate worktops is Sophie HinchCliffe from Essex in the UK.
The 28-year-old hairdresser explained how her Instagram is so much more than just cleaning. – and the reason we suspect that people are flocking to follow.
"I'm a worrier and I struggle with anxiety. For me, to keep my mind off of what was worrying me would be to clean and organise something and love the end result," she said to Essex Live.
"It helps me control my panic attacks too. Since I've started the account others have messaged me saying I've changed their lives and helped them with their mental health which to me is simply amazing."
"I get thousands of messages each day like this." – Unreal, a tidy space helps to calm the ole noggin.
She may not have won Love Island, but Megan Barton-Hanson has truly won over the hearts of the public with her honesty about her past.
Taking to Instagram, Megan opened up about just how quickly her life has changed in the space of a year. She bravely shared her mental health struggles in the touching Instagram post: “How times have changed! This time last year I was in really a bad space. My anxiety was at an all-time high and looking back now I can see I was actually depressed.”
Megan admitted she felt like her life was going nowhere. Her dreams felt like they were out of reach, but fast forward to 365 days later and her life has completely changed for the better.
She gushed about attending the TV Choice awards in a dress designed especially for her by Julien MacDonald.
She encouraged her followers to keep going no matter how hard life is for them: “I can’t quite believe that so much can change so quickly. If you’re feeling shitty today just know that everything can change.”
Megan’s honesty about her mental health issues will reassure her followers by showing them that things do get better, even when you feel like they won’t.
"Just because you aren’t where you want to be it doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get there,” she wrote.
Megan stressed the importance of believing in yourself. “Stop being afraid of aiming high, stay focused on goals and most importantly try to enjoy the journey of getting there.”
“Sending you all love and huge thanks to everyone believing in me and helping me get to where I want to be.”
Megan praised her boyfriend Wes who has been there for her since they left Love Island: “I love and appreciate you more than you know. Have a great day everyone. Dream big!” she added.
Megan’s positivity is simply infectious. Her upbeat and encouraging words have really lifted our spirits this morning.
