Calling in sick the day after cramming hours of videogames usually goes unnoticed by most folk.  Why would your boss think for a second that you’re completing every campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 instead of hacking up phlegm all day?  After all, you did leave a convincing voicemail, with a fake cough and everything.  Well, thanks a lot, Will Statton, if that is your real name (it’s not), for not being able to hack it!

Seems old Will shared his personal weakness to the Times Online, spinning a story about how he waited all night “like Charlie waiting outside the chocolate factory” to pick up his copy of Modern Warfare 2 before playing late and calling out sick the next morning.  The twist here is that Fake Will Statton isn’t your average guy, but a district judge for a county court in England.  So when Will stays home, a small part of Britain’s legal world stays home with him.

Naturally, I applaud this forsaking of responsibility for gaming, but considering the story’s dance with the mainstream media, I can’t help but worry that some HR department somewhere is becoming a little more game savvy.  If a company can use Facebook photos to deny someone medical benefits, what’s to stop them from using my Xbox Live Gamercard to dispute my sick day?  You laugh now, but think about it even if lying about the reason you played hooky from work isn’t illegal… yet.

To avoid the problem, Xbox 360 owners can “appear offline” so no one will be the wiser but PSN and Steam gamers may need to keep their antics truly offline if they’re going to get away with murder.  Murder, in this case, being playing video games while pretending to be sick.

What about you? How often have you told your boss you were sick just to play the latest, greatest video game? Answers in the double-digits are okay. You’re amongst friends.

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