7 Legitimate Reasons to Call Out of Work

Whether your job is Temporary/ Contract, Temp-to-Hire, Direct-Hire, remote, or on-site, calling out of work from time to time is inevitable. You might need to miss work for family emergencies, medical issues, scheduled appointments, etc. Managers understand that their employees are human and that life happens, expectedly and unexpectedly. The best thing to do is respectfully and briefly inform your supervisor of why you need to take time off.

Unfortunately in many places of employment a point system is now in place and if the employee calls in too many times they are subject to the points being counted against them. Too many points can result in disciplinary action or suspension without pay. Because of this, employees are more prone to coming in sick to avoid the points situation. Employers aren’t necessarily going to jump the gun and assume that if you report being sick more than once in your tenure you’re lying.

If you find that you’ve run out of an important drug, that’s a valid reason to miss work. Perhaps you’ve been busy and realized that you just took your last pill this morning. I’m sorry for the late notice, but I can’t come to work today. I’m going to take it easy and see if I can get it to go away. I don’t want to get the whole office sick, so I’ll update you later if I think it’s safe for me to return tomorrow.

Do not forget to give updates and inform whether you would take a leave on another day or not. It is your job to convince your boss that your work has been taken care of and that your team will not be in reasons to call out of work hot soup because of your absence. Of course, the right to take a day off due to illness also applies to remote workers. After all, it’s not easy to perform well when feeling under the weather, even if you don’t have to commute to an office. While it may not be good form to call out for things that you knew about in advance – such as planned doctor’s appointments or moving – some things in life are unavoidable. There’s no way for you to know ahead of time that your child is going to wake up sick or that there’s a problem in your home that needs to be dealt with immediately.

When you wake up feeling unwell—whether physically or mentally—it can be difficult to decide whether to call in sick to work. Many employees worry about how their absence might be perceived, while others are unsure if their situation qualifies as a valid reason to take time off. These are all legitimate reasons that warrant a short or long-term absence from work. If you can (depending on the severity of the situation), inform your manager right away to let them know that you’ll be missing work.

1. The loss of a loved one would arouse the sympathy of most bosses, and it is one of the most formidable excuses to miss work on short notice.
2. Like school, your military obligations are more important than your job.
3. Your dog might’ve gotten into the trash and potentially eaten something poisonous.
4. Stress, anxiety, depression, or burnout are valid reasons to take a day off.
5. You may be the only one available who can care for your loved one.
6. Employers don’t want to find themselves with an epidemic of illness spreading through the workplace because this seriously affects operations and productivity.

Bad Weather

Other employers may designate sick or personal leave that can be used in certain types of illness situations for children. As an employee of a New York employer, it’s a good idea to know what your employer’s policies are regarding paid, or unpaid, time off. This way, you know how to present your reasoning when requesting to take days (or weeks) off from work. Employers are often understanding when their employees miss time at work due to an unexpected emergency or accident occurs. On the other hand, they might not be so sympathetic when staff members start taking random time off, especially if it occurs on a routine basis. Either way, you may be asked to show your official jury summons to your employer, so be prepared.

1. These traits do not bode well while excusing yourself from work.
2. Join meetings by video when possible so you remain visible.
3. Vomiting and diarrhea can be signs of contagious illness or may simply be too disruptive to get any useful work done.
4. One unfortunate and common problem people can run into during New York commutes are related to car problems or other issues with transportation.
5. Explain the situation transparently while reiterating your dedication as an employee.

You need a mental health day.

I’ll be back tomorrow, ready to work hard,” can suffice as an explanation. Much like emergencies, you can’t always decide when last-minute appointments or family needs will come up. If you have a family, your family’s emergencies are your emergencies and therefore may merit a situation where you need to call out of work. Life is full of unexpected situations, and sometimes those things may interfere with your ability to fulfill your work responsibilities. Your work is important, and it’s important that you fulfill your duties as part of a team, but things happen sometimes that you may need to take care of and that’s completely okay.

However, more often than not this just leaves me more sick, tired, and burnt out than I would have been had I just taken the day to rest. With transparency, most bosses will understand the occasional request for a much-needed break. But fibbing and flimsy excuses will only make you the boy who cried sick day too many times. When in doubt, save your best fake cough for cases of actual necessity.

How Long Should I Stay Out Sick?

From a pulled hamstring to a car crash, you can use any kind of accident as a reason to miss work. Something as common as ‘’I tried to lift the side of the couch while cleaning at home and sprained my back’’ works quite well, in spite of how generic it is. Making excuses to skip work or leave work early is part and parcel of corporate life. So much so that, often, the manager knows very well that the person asking for a day off is lying about their reason, but they just go along with it. Pushing yourself through sickness at work won’t help you feel better, plus your work will suffer.

Put out-of-office messages to work for you when you’re away

But let’s be clear, honest and hardworking employees should never feel bad about giving legitimate reasons for missing work. Emergencies are another legitimate excuse to call out of work. In fact, they might be one of the best excuses to miss work without notice since you can’t plan for an emergency. They happen at the last minute—and, as such, you can only call out at the last minute when you’re in an emergency situation. Many bosses are parents and understand the urgency of needing to be there for a child.

My dog was bit by a possum on our morning walk and I’m worried about an infection. The vet said I should bring them in right away so I won’t be able to make it into work. Without going into too much detail, I’m in a rough spot mentally with anxiety over the wedding and I need to take some time off today. Sometimes donating blood can cause lightheadedness which may cause a situation that is not safe for you to work. Chances are your boss will be able to relate to your extreme allergy symptoms. They may not be as bulletproof as the ones earlier, but they still work.

Use lunch breaks, days off, and other accrued PTO to complete those interviews. As long as you have a valid excuse, it isn’t something you should feel bad about. You want your manager to see you as trustworthy and reliable, and many people think taking time off diminishes trust or hurts chances for a promotion. Home emergencies can come out of nowhere, leaving you with few options. These problems require immediate attention, and you can’t address them at work. If it’s a repair issue, you must be there to allow experts in and assess the damage.