There comes a point in your career when you might need to take time off from work unexpectedly. Although many employers prefer employees to follow an established attendance policy, a team member may miss work without prior notice due to unavoidable circumstances. That’s why you need the best bulletproof excuses to get out of work.
Source: UGC
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There might be times in your job when you need to leave work early. This could be for personal reasons, family emergencies, or maybe you want to leave early to enjoy some nice weather. Which excuse will you give that won’t make your senior question your sincerity?
Bulletproof excuses to get out of work
Needing to take a day off work, particularly at the last minute, can be stressful for you, your coworkers, or your boss. It may disrupt the normal work schedule, especially when you have to leave on such short notice. Here are perfect excuses to miss work without making your boss suspicious:
1. Relocation
Moving to a new home can disrupt your regular routine and should be a valid reason to take a break from work, particularly if the move is work-related.
There are many things to handle, like dealing with real estate agents, arranging key handovers, working with removal companies, or redecorating your new space. Trying to deal with all these things while still working is definitely not the best plan.
2. Panic attack or anxiety
It’s completely fine to leave work early or take a day off if you’re experiencing increased anxiety. This means you have the right to request reasonable adjustments from your employer to support your well-being.
3. Bad weather
Bad weather can seriously mess up your travel plans, especially if you reside in remote places. In extreme situations, heavy snow, earthquakes, or floods can block roads, stop all communication, and ruin homes.
Your boss should understand if you need to leave work early to prepare for these natural disasters or if you miss work due to these unforeseen disasters.
4. Death of a loved one
When your loved ones pass away, work is the last thing on your mind. You need time to grieve and handle things like funerals or memorial services.
Many companies have an official bereavement policy to cover family deaths, so check your employee handbook to see what it says. If it doesn’t, talk to your boss or HR and explain why you must take some time off.
5. No childcare
Needing to take a day off work, particularly at the last minute, can be stressful for you, your coworkers, or your boss. It may disrupt the normal work schedule, especially when you have to leave on such short notice.
6. Medical appointment
Another good reason to miss work is if you have an important appointment. Not every appointment is a good excuse to miss work. Your boss might not be happy if you take time off for a hair appointment, a meeting with a wedding planner, or a personal trainer session.
It’s okay to miss work if you have an important appointment like a doctor’s visit, a dentist’s appointment, or a meeting at your child’s school, which can only happen during work hours.
7. Personal emergency
Emergencies are a good reason not to go to work. They can happen suddenly, and you can’t plan for them. There are different types of emergencies, like a medical issue for you or a family member or an urgent situation that requires you to travel quickly, like a problem with your child who lives in a different state.
Source: UGC
8. An accident
Incidents such as car accidents and falls from stairs are also good reasons to call out of work for multiple days, depending on the impact of the accident.
For example, if you get into a serious car accident on the way to work on Monday, it’s legitimate to call out of work — but if you sustained injuries, you may have to miss work for the rest of the week to rest and recover.
9. Transportation challenges
If you work in an office, an unexpected transportation issue, such as your car breaking down on the highway or an unannounced change to the bus schedule that makes it impossible for you to get to work, is a legitimate reason to miss work that day.
10. There’s a special event on the calendar
If you don’t want to miss a special event in your family’s life, like a wedding, parent’s day at your child’s school, or graduation, most employers consider that a legitimate reason to miss work. Ensure you give your boss as much advance notice as possible if you know an event is coming up.
11. Volunteering duties
While not every organization or institution gives employees time off to volunteer, it’s becoming increasingly common. If you want to miss work for the purpose of giving back to your community, ask your boss.
Depending on their views on volunteering, they may consider it a perfectly good excuse to miss work.
12. Jury duty
Another good reason to miss work is to do civic duties, like jury duty. According to federal law, specifically the Jury System Improvement Act of 1978, your employer must give you time off if you’re chosen for jury duty. In some states, they also have to pay you for this time.
13. You want to vote
Did you know that while no national law forces bosses to let their employees take time off to vote, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have such a law?
If you live in one of those places and want to exercise your right to vote, your boss has to let you take some time off work, usually between 2 and 4 hours, to make your voice heard at the polls. How cool is that?
14. You hurt your back exercising
You were lifting weights and hurt your back. You’ve done this before and know improving takes about a week. This is one of the good excuses to get out of something last minute and miss work for a few days. If you can’t sit in your office chair at home, this is a good reason to take time off, even if you’re working remotely.
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15. You need a mental health day
You’ve been under a lot of stress recently and need a day off to rest and recharge. Your boss knows you’ve been stressed, so they shouldn’t be surprised. If your company values work-life balance, they should be understanding and accept this reason.
16. Need to study for certification
Your job requirements are to be certified in a particular software used at your firm. The examination is the day after tomorrow, but you need today for thorough preparation so that you can focus on the material without being bothered by coworkers and be fully prepared.
17. You’ve lost power at home
At some point, the electricity might go out unprepared. And since it’s in the middle of winter and you’ve lost power, you need to monitor and start your gas generator.
If you are not around, your pipes could freeze in the house, which could be a major catastrophe. For this reason, you will have to ask your boss to miss work so you can monitor your power supply and also turn off your generator.
18. You slept right through the alarm
This might sound suspicious to your boss, but it happens, and he/she knows how hard you’ve been working lately to meet an important project deadline and perfect your work.
You need your sleep today, so you’ve requested to spend the day resting from all the extra time you’ve put in for the company.
19. Locked out of your car or house
If you get locked out of your car or house, it’s a good reason to miss work. Maybe you went outside, and the wind blew your door shut while it was locked, with your house and car keys inside.
Instead of breaking a window, you need to call a locksmith to get back in. Or maybe you accidentally left your car keys in the locked car. In this case, you’d need to call a service like AAA or the police to help you get back into your car.
20. You have a sick pet
When your pet needs to go to the vet urgently or is vomiting or having diarrhoea all over the house, you must stay home and look after them. It would be heartbreaking to lose your closest companion.
21. Home emergency
If you have a sudden emergency at home, it’s a good reason to miss work. Serious home problems need to be handled right away. For example, if a tree falls on your house during a storm, you’ll need to spend the whole day cleaning it up and calling a carpenter to fix the house.
22. Computer crashed
Which are the best last-minute excuses to miss work? If your computer crashes and can’t restart, you must take it to a repair shop. Because of this, you won’t be able to work from home. As a result, you cannot log on and do your job remotely.
Source: UGC
23. You have a bad migraine
If you historically have had bad migraines in the past, it may happen without notice. This may be related to stress at work. A day away from the office could relieve your stress and migraine. Asking for a work break due to your health is one of the believable excuses to ask for a day off work
24. Covid or flu
Today, tests for both Covid and the flu are available. Some can be done at home, and some can be done at your doctor’s office. Even if you don’t know your test results, it’s a valid reason to call out of work. And what manager wants a highly contagious virus floating around their workplace?
25. Being robbed
Have you ever been robbed? It’s not just about losing stuff; it can also mess with your mind and feelings. This is a good excuse to call out of work last minute. After being robbed, you might feel stressed and scared, and some people might even get PTSD.
If this happens to you, taking a break to deal with what happened can stop it from affecting your health badly in the long term. Also, taking time off can allow you to look after yourself, get help from family and friends, or see a professional if needed.
26. Lost internet signal
Losing your internet connection is a common and annoying reason remote workers miss work. It can happen suddenly, stopping you from doing your work or talking to your coworkers.
This can be really stressful if you have work due soon or important meetings to attend. A lost internet connection not only messes up your work, but it’s also something you can’t control.
27. Religious celebration/event
Whenever there is a festival or a religious holiday that isn’t recognized locally, if you observe it, it can be a valid reason to ask for time off work.
28. Loss of personal belongings
Losing your phone, car keys, wallet, purse, or important documents is a bad experience. These items contain personal information that you cannot compromise at any cost. Ensuring your identity is not stolen before returning to work becomes a priority at that point.
29. Food poisoning
Food poisoning can make you feel so miserable that you cannot imagine feeling good again. If your body is subject to food poisoning, you will definitely want to call out of work so you can go to the doctor for a checkup.
30. That time of the month
This applies to women employees. Sometimes, calling out of work is something you may not share, like when you’re miserable because of your menstrual cycle, something natural.
You may experience severe abdominal cramps, lower back aches, migraines, and more, making it one of the top excuses to call off work for women who want to miss that lazy Monday day.
Final word
Life can be full of surprises, and sometimes, things happen that make you skip work without advance notice. It could be a problem with your family or being called out of the blue for jury duty. Knowing how to talk about it professionally is important. Remember that the aim isn’t to find a reason not to go to work but to have bulletproof excuses to get out of work at the last minute.
Tuko.co.ke shared an article about how to write a job application letter for a hotel and restaurant. This letter is an important opportunity to showcase your unique qualifications and make a positive first impression on potential employers.
Much like any other cover letter, the application letter for a restaurant job should provide all the necessary information not included in your resume. So, how do you write this hotel or restaurant job application? Find out here.
Source: TUKO.co.ke