Each one of us needs to miss a day from work. The reason can be an actual sickness, or you want to take a break for a day.
If you are looking to miss work for a day, remember not to use excuses too often. It can make the manager suspicious, and he can catch onto your patterns.
16 Good Excuses To Miss Work On Short Notice
If you recently got into some trouble at work, keep these excuses for some other day.
There’s a list of good excuses to miss work on short notice. The listed reasons aren’t guaranteed and can backfire.
But if used often with confidence, you can be successful.
1. You Have To Consult Your Doctor: – Fake An Illness:
Telling the employer that you have an appointment with your doctor is the most used excuse.
However, for some reason, it works the most. Out of the fear of misstepping, your boss won’t ask you too many questions.
However, it’s a go-to-excuse used by everyone once in their life. A doctor’s appointment is less doubted. But if overused, it can be troubling for you.
For instance, your boss might demand a note from your doctor or any proof. If you occasionally use this excuse, it will work every time.
2. There’s A Case Of Need At Your Home:
It’s a great excuse whose reasons can vary. The emergency can be in the form of a severe accident or a sick parent at home.
This excuse is quite time-sensitive, and you can skip the whole workday or take a mid-day leave.
You’ve to inform your boss that you can’t come to work because of this. Once you return to work, you must have to mention it once not to look fake.
3. A Sick Toddler Is The Best Excuse To Miss Work On Short Notice:
If you have kids at home, you’d agree with this excuse. Because for parents, children are the topmost priority and then comes their work.
So when it comes to kids, it’s valid for a parent to drop everything, even work for them.
You have to mention that your child is sick or he’s coming down due to a fever. So you have to stay at home with your kid or take him to the doctor.
4. You’ve To Take Your Car To Workshop:
Some of the problems in life are unavoidable. Facing car troubles is one of these issues.
It’s a good excuse to say to your employer that your car broke down last night.
Yet, if you’re living in a big city having a transportation system, it’s challenging to use this excuse.
For the people who drive cars, it’s a fact that the car breaks down many times.
However, you don’t need to go in-depth while giving this excuse. Because it happens with most of us and your boss would understand this.
5. A Toothache Hit You Out Of Nowhere – Visiting Dentist:
Like a doctor’s appointment, a dentist’s appointment is a great excuse to miss work. If you tell your manager that you have a toothache and going to a dentist to get it cured.
You might get sympathy, and your boss won’t ask you so many questions.
We all hate toothache, and no one of us wants to go to a dentist. So this excuse, when used, gets sympathy to you.
6. You Are Expecting A Purchase Delivery Is A Good Excuse
An unbelievable number of parcels get stolen daily. And you don’t want it to happen to you.
If it’s a big delivery like furniture, electronics, or jewelry, you don’t want to take a chance.
However, big purchases require your presence to sign for it and get it installed in the home.
The time of delivery is not sure, so you need to be present all day at home. It makes this excuse a great reason to miss work on short notice.
7. You Forgot Your House Keys Inside:
Although it sounds funny, it happens. If you have a slam lock, you might get locked out with your keys inside the home.
Being locked out of the house means you’ll have to wait for a roommate or spouse.
If you’re living alone, you’ll need to call a locksmith to help you out with this. And it can be time taking, might take even the whole day.
So if you don’t have a spare key under the mat, this excuse is a good fit to use.
8. Good Excuses To Miss Work On Short Notice – Your Pet Ate Ball:
If you own a pet, it must have fallen sick one or two times a year. Any pet owner will take their pet to a veterinarian when it gets sick. So is the case with you.
It’s a great excuse, and it works well if you’ve shown the pictures of your pet to your manager before.
This way, he’ll feel a closer relationship with your pet and give you the leave out of sympathy.
9. You Got To Correct The Electricity Issue At Home:
Just like owning a car, to have a house makes you responsible for its maintenance.
It’s not an easy task, and you’ll have to take care of it from any minor issue to fixing the backyard.
Sometimes major issues can occur, and you’ll need professional help to sort them out.
It can be plumbing, electricity issues, or an appliance going out of order.
Your boss will surely understand this because it’s a general issue and can happen to anyone.
10. You Are Facing A Family Problem
This excuse works well if it’s not used too often. Because using it much will cause troubles for your job.
If you have a good relationship with your manager, you’ll be comfortable using this excuse.
You can easily let him know that you have a family problem and need time to deal with it.
If your boss is wise, he won’t ask questions to disturb your personal space.
11. It Is A Good Excuse That You Suffer From Severe Stomachache:
If you got food poisoning and you go to work, you’ll spend the entire day in the restroom. So what’s the point of coming to work?
It means that it’s a useful excuse to miss work. It would help if you told your boss that you went to a popular restaurant and got food poisoning.
He’ll probably give you the day off so you can recover at home.
12. Good Excuses To Miss Work On Short Notice – You Got A Hidden Injury:
Accidents are, unfortunately, a part of life, and these can happen to anyone. If you want to use this excuse, it’s enough to say that an accident occurred.
There’s no need to go into too much detail. It will be sufficient to say that a small accident occurred and you can’t show up to work.
13. You Have To Visit A Friend In Hospital:
It always feels wrong when you have to go to the hospital. Most of the time, going to the hospital is a last-minute decision.
It’s an easy-to-use excuse. You need to tell your boss that you are in the hospital either for a family member or yourself.
So you won’t be able to make it to work that day. However, avoid using this excuse too much because it can doubt your employer.
14. Your Relatives From Another Town Are Visiting You:
To take a day off, tell your manager that some visitors from out of the town are there to visit you.
Being their host, you need to make some arrangements for them at your home. Or you need to take them on a short tour of the city.
In that case, you can miss work, and that’s entirely valid for you.
15. Good Excuses To Miss Work On Short Notice – Weightlifting Gone Wrong:
If you go to the gym, you can tell your boss that you stretched incorrectly. And so you got a sore back.
It needs bed rest to heal from a sore back, so you can’t possibly be at work if you’re in bed.
Tell your manager that you’ll be resting at home soothing your back.
16. There’s A Religious Holiday:
If you’re making an excuse for observing a religious holiday, make it look like a genuine one.
The one in which people can believe that you have to observe a religious event.
You must tell your boss beforehand that you need a day off in respect of observance.
3 Bad Excuses To Miss Work You Should Avoid
Not all excuses to miss work are valid and genuine. Here are some insufficient reasons you must avoid if you don’t want to get in trouble.
1. You Are Unhappy With Your Job
If you use dissatisfaction as an excuse to miss work, you might get your job in danger.
Because it will affect your standing, and you might get terminated.
However, if you’re dissatisfied and tired of your job, arrange a meeting with your boss.
And make him aware of the issues you are facing. When you present your concerns in front of him, he’ll do something to help you.
If you think that things aren’t getting any better, then explore other job options.
2. Feeling Tired Is A Bad Excuse To Miss Work
Although it’s quite uncomfortable to feel tired and it lowers the motivation level. You still can’t say to your manager because he might consider you non-serious.
Instead, it would help if you tried to find the reason behind your tiredness. It maybe because you were up all night or had to take care of a sick child.
Dealing with a family emergency can be another reason. So deal with the reasoning behind instead of venting.
Yet, if you feel tired because of the workload, speak to your boss and ask for fewer responsibilities.
3. Poor Planning Is A Bad Excuse
If you missed a meeting or arrived late and you say that you ran out of gas. That’s a pretty lousy excuse. Even it sounds so unprofessional.
If you make mistakes at work, your boss might forgive you once or two. But if you are a late riser and don’t give a damn to your shift timings. Then things can go worse!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Tell Your Boss You Can't Work Today?
If you call out of work, inform your manager before so he can arrange your alternative. It won't let your work go missing. Be precise while telling your boss the reason for not showing up.
What Do You Say When You Call In Sick For Anxiety?
You can call your manager and say that your anxiety levels have gone high. And you can't perform well if you go to work that day. You can ask for a day off by saying that you need time to focus on yourself.
Is Anxiety A Valid Reason To Miss Work?
Yes, anxiety and stress are quite valid reasons for missing work. Yet research shows that people are still embarrassed to take a day off for such reasons.
How Do You Ask For A Day Off Last Minute?
Set your expectations early and inform your manager as soon as possible. Make a plan to get your work covered after you come back. Please don't make it a habit to take days off for no reason.
Conclusion
When it comes to using an excuse from any of the above, it depends on believability and confidence.
Make a story for the excuse beforehand and be stick to it. Try to sound this excuse as if things happened.
Call your manager and be calm while stating your excuse. Apologizing for the last-minute notice would be good.
If it’s your first time making an excuse, you shouldn’t get worried much. However, if you have been missing work for some days, you should go to work because no one wants to get their job in danger!
Leave a comment to let us know which excuse you have used before.
Last Updated on 2 years by Assma Riaz
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