Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 6th Edition by Raymond Noe, John Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart,Patrick Wright

Exercise 1

Bizarre Excuses for Absences
It's hard to address the source of employees' dissatisfaction if they express it indirectly by physically withdrawing from the job. It's even harder when employees explain their withdrawal by offering strange excuses for their absence. Surveys of employers and employees in the United States and Europe have uncovered some excuses that would leave most supervisors speechless.
Some excuses are so awkward that perhaps the employee is telling the painful truth. One employee's excuse was not being able to decide what to wear, and another reported pants splitting during the trip into work. A U.S. employee was so disappointed by a football team's Sunday loss that he or she needed a day to recover. Still another reported that efforts to quit smoking were making him or her too grouchy to go to work.
Other excuses are just bizarre. An employee said that after receiving a threatening phone call from the electric company, he or she needed to stay home to report the threat to the FBI. Another said that someone had glued her doors and windows shut, so she was unable to leave the house.
How would you advise a supervisor to respond to one of the excuses described here