Some of us are pretty bad at giving good excuses or Reasons To Call Out Of Work, aren’t we? But no need to worry as this blog is here to help you out with some of the best valid excuses for missing work.
Nowadays, we all are tied up with our work so much and our lives have become so busy, that we often feel like taking a short break and just relaxing for a day or two. But also we have fear in our minds, that how should I ask my boss for a leave or a day off in the most polite way? or what valid reason should I give, so that it doesn’t feel like a bad excuse or a reason for the boss to fire me from work.
Now if you ask me how will you know if you are giving a good excuse or a bad one, well there is no literal definition for both, but I will simply say that a good excuse does not require a lot of explanation, it kind of sums up itself and sounds genuine. Whereas a bad excuse when heard, it sounds fake and you get to know that the person is just lying to miss work by making up any excuse.
An example of this would be: If you have a meeting the next day, but you can’t attend it as you want to go out for an appointment or any reason and you gave your boss a reason like my laptop is not working, or it is just lagging a lot so you can’t attend, that can be considered as a bad excuse. A good excuse would be you inform prior that you won’t be able to join as you have a family emergency or an appointment with the doctor.
But it’s not just about you wanting to rest so you are taking leave, there can be many reasons behind why you want to miss work may it be for a full day or a half-day, it could be your loved ones are sick or you yourself are not feeling well, unexpected circumstances occur in your family or your life. These can be some of the reasons to call out of work.
It also becomes important for a person who has a job, to inform their boss about their leave. Most companies need you to give advance notice to call out of work, so if you know that on this particular date you have things to do and will require a leave then it’s better you inform your boss in advance.
But as everything is so unpredictable, you can’t always be aware of things happening in the future. So it would be great if you give genuine excuses to miss work rather than just giving bad excuses which will make your employer feel that you are just faking it because you want to miss work.
I would quote this in a simple way ” Be as genuine as possible even while giving reasons”.
We all know that somedays we lie to take a leave, just because we want to freshen up our mind from all the stress and the busy life. That’s completely okay but give valid reasons, so that your boss doesn’t feel that you just making up excuses and running away from your responsibilities.
So in today’s blog let’s get to know some of the best and most valid excuses to miss work, also will be providing some tips on how to keep it real while asking your boss for a leave.
10 Top Valid Reasons To Call Out Of Work:
1. Family Emergency:
Now family emergencies can be any unexpected circumstances that occur. Reasons can be: family member got a serious illness, got to take the sick child to the doctor, car accident of someone from the family, or have to visit the funeral of someone close, sudden death in a family and so on.
The above reasons are understandable because they are serious ones. So you got to inform your, boss, immediately that you won’t be able to show up to work, because of a family emergency and let them know when you will be back at the office.
2. Doctor’s Appointment:
You may have booked a doctor’s appointment on a weekday because there are times when you don’t get an appointment on a weekend. So this can be a good excuse to miss work or you can take a half-day as well at work if you want to.
Also if someone from your family is sick and they have a doctor’s appointment, at times you may have to accompany them so that they safely reach the hospital or clinic. Make sure to inform your boss, whatever the situation is for him to grant you leave for a day.
3. You’re Sick:
When you’re sick, it’s better to skip work for a day or two and join when you feel well. Because if you have a viral fever, then there is a fear of it spreading to your other colleagues at the office, which will make them sick as well so it’s better to rest at home.
Other reasons can be, that you got food poisoning because you ate something bad at dinner and you are ill because of it. Also, some employers may require you to give a doctor’s note attached with your mail of leave. So make sure that you take it from your doctor.
Some of the other reasons can be that you have a headache, stomach ache, cough, cold and so on, which can be acceptable excuses to miss work.
4. Pet Emergency:
If you have your own pet, and it is not keeping well and you got to take it to the veterinarian then it also can be considered as a good reason. If your pet has gone through surgery and you need to take care of him/her after bringing it home, it can be used as a reason to take a leave from work only for a day or two.
If you don’t have a pet, then you can’t use this as a reason to avoid work. Make sure to not use the same emergency reason, again and again, use it only when you actually have to take your pet to the vet or need to take care of them. Using the same reason often can lead you into trouble.
5. House Emergency:
House emergencies can include many things like a gas leak at your home, your boiler breaking suddenly, or your house catching fire, and so on.
Any house emergency reason, which requires you to present, to fix it and sort things out can be included in this. It can also be if any repair person is coming to your house to fix the boiler, water leak, circuit or other, and no one is home and you need to stay until the person comes and repairs it, at that time you can ask your boss for a half day. So that when the situation is handled after that you can go to the office, but make sure to keep your boss informed about the same.
6. Car Trouble/ Transport Problems:
If you are someone who travels by private transport or even with public transport, these reasons would be helpful for you to skip work. You can let your boss know that as you have car trouble, or that your car isn’t starting so you have to go to the car mechanic to fix it, so as soon as the car trouble get resolved you will get back to the office. This reason can work when you stay a little too far from your office, otherwise, you got to go to work by public transport otherwise.
But these can be a benefit for people who travel by public transport, as sometimes due to bad weather or construction work on roads or tracks, the metro, buses or even taxi services are late or are not available. Also if you have good luck, then even your ola and uber services cancel your ride sometimes because of far drop locations, non-availability of cabs in your area, payment issues or some other reasons.
7. Visit To Donate Blood:
It’s one of the great reasons to miss work, as donating blood is a good thing and one should do it when got the opportunity. The reason you can tell your boss is that your society or nearby have conducted a blood donation camp and you are going there to donate blood. After coming from there you may feel weak and would need some time to rest.
Even if you don’t give a reason for visiting a blood donation camp, you can say that you have to donate blood to someone from your family who is in need of it and it’s a kind of a family emergency. So you won’t be able to show up for work.
8. Travel:
If you have plans to go on a vacation or travel somewhere for your close cousin’s wedding, this can be considered as one of the valid reasons to miss work.
But for that to happen you have to make sure to inform about your holiday plan to your boss prior. So that you get a leave from him/her for traveling, without having to make excuses for last minute.
9. Bad Weather:
Sometimes it rains too heavily during monsoon, so you can’t really travel because as streets are flooded you won’t be able to reach your office and might get stuck. Another reason could be a snowstorm or there is heavy snowfall happening in the city you stay in.
Your car is covered in full snow and you can’t drive it because even the roads are covered with snow, and it would be better off if you stay at home in such conditions. These excuses can be only given when the weather is actually worse, you can’t use these excuses on a daily basis.
10. To Have A Mental Health Day:
Just like our physical health, mental health is also a priority. There are days when you want to give your best, but still, you aren’t able to because there are too many things going on in your life which is kind of making you stressed and sad.
So it’s better to take a day off, to just relax and just do what makes you feel good so that you feel refreshed and better. Many companies do accept this reason to give you leave, while other employers don’t consider this excuse. But no need to worry you can always give other reasons as an excuse if mental health reason is not accepted by your employer to grant you leave. You can use a personal matter or emergency to deal with as excuses.
Tips On How To Keep It real, While Asking Your Boss For A Leave:
- Be real and honest, tell them why you want to miss work. You don’t always have to lie, just let them know whatever the situation is and ask for a day off.
- Have clarity in what you say, don’t just make things up because if you get questioned you will get into a lot of trouble.
- You don’t always have to give huge explanations for anything, be genuine, state your reason clearly and maintain professionalism
- Don’t lie and give the same reasons again and again, for frequently getting holidays because then you may get fired for that.
- Let your employer know when you will be back after a vacation, holiday or even a day off.
- Also make sure to complete all your pending work, while you get back to the office. So that your employer knows that you value your job & duties and are responsible.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and got some pretty good reasons to get out of work. Use these valid reasons only when a situation occurs, if you just lie about it you never know that when a real situation like this arrives you may not actually get a leave. Lying sometimes is okay if you really want a break, but using it every time to get your holidays is not good, it damages your reputation in front of the employer. So be genuine and professional!
That’s it for today’s blog on reasons to call out of work.