From bees in the car to a lost grandmother, Canadian workers are using some interesting excuses to show up late for work, and a new survey suggests the problem is getting worse.

Online job company Career Builder Canada surveyed hundreds of Canadian companies and employees and found that many are having a tough go at time management in the workplace.

A total of 19 per cent of respondents said they arrive late to work at least once a week – up from 17 per cent last year. Another 11 per cent said they clock in late at least two times a week.

Employees gave a wide variety of excuses why they couldn't be on time, including lack of sleep (24 per cent) and traffic (24 per cent).

Fifteen per cent shifted the blame onto public transportation while another 12 per cent said their lateness was caused by bad weather.

Other excuses included getting kids to school or daycare, Internet use or spouses.

Neil Miklusak of Career Builder Canada said they've heard some whoppers that didn't make it to the top five list.

"A bear stopped my car and smashed the window and tried to grab me. Someone said their cat attacked them or their car was inhabited by bees," he said.

Other outrageous excuses included these gems:

  • Employee claimed a prostitute stole their car keys
  • Employee claimed he couldn't find his clothes
  • Employee claimed his dog ate his BlackBerry
  • Employee claimed he ran over himself with the company truck
  • Employee claimed they were playing a video game and didn't want to break up the group they were playing with
  • Employee claimed their grandmother went missing
  • Employee claimed they forgot it was a workday

But while the excuses are funny, the consequences can be very real. The survey suggests the problem is getting worse and in this economy and it can cost you your job.

"It's interesting because one in three Canadian employers said that they had terminated someone for being late or for tardiness issues," Miklusak said.

The poll says Canadians tend to be later than Americans and it's young workers who are most likely to be last in the door.

Miklusak's advice is to be honest if you're late. If that fails, at least try to make the excuse believable.

The survey company, Harris Interactive, claims a sampling error of +/- 6.5 and +/- 4.18 percentage points, respectively.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat