Have you ever fallen sick or had an emergency and wondered if it was enough reason to call off work? Well, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, hustle culture has led many of us to believe we should just “push through” illnesses and personal problems. Recent research shows that many employees feel guilty for taking sick days, especially if they work from home.
In fact, the idea that showing up is more important than taking care of yourself is so common that it has a name: presenteeism. Though this behaviour may come from a desire to succeed professionally, it can only lead to burnout in the long term.
The truth is that there are plenty of valid reasons to miss work. As long as you’re not taking advantage of company policies, calling out of work should be reframed as a form of self-care. When you take the time you need to rest, you can be more effective, productive, and focused later.
So what is a good reason to call out of work? Some might think physical pain or a family emergency is the only valid excuse to take a day off of work. But in reality, there are plenty of reasons that you might call off work. From a bad cold to needing a mental health day, it’s okay to take the time you need to rest.
Good and legitimate reasons to call off work
1. Sickness
If you’re feeling under the weather, don’t be a hero. Being sick is a perfectly valid excuse to call off work.
When you’re ill, you can’t perform at your best. Your productivity wanes, and you could bring your entire team down. If you work in an environment where everyone needs to be on their A-game, coming into work sick will do no one any good.
On top of all that, there’s the risk of spreading the illness to your coworkers. No manager wants to deal with a sweeping sickness that takes out the entire team. It’s best to stay home, rest, and come back refreshed.
Some employers will require a doctor’s note or proof of illness for this to be considered a legit reason to call off work. In that case, don’t be afraid to go to your general practitioner or a local health clinic. Not only will you get the proof you need, but you’ll likely get some treatment to speed up your recovery.
2. Someone else is sick
Maybe you’re feeling fine, but you have a sick child at home and need to take care of them. You might have to pick up a prescription, drive them to urgent care, or make sure their fever doesn’t spike.
Whatever support your family member needs, it will be hard to juggle that on top of your work responsibilities (even if you work from home). Yes, you could try, but more than likely your attention will be on other things. If you can, it’s best to step away from your desk for the day and take of your family.
3. Family emergency
Family emergencies refer to any unexpected situation that affects the health or safety of your family. The definition is pretty broad here, which is fine. Things happen all the time, and family comes first.
You might have to take off work because your child or spouse experienced a sudden illness. Or, it could be your grandmother who suddenly needs help handling a heavy delivery because she’s incapable of doing so herself. Whatever the case, family emergencies are valid excuses to miss work.
In some cases, you may even qualify for up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Keep your employer informed and updated as things evolve.
Here are some examples of family emergencies that could cause you to miss work:
- Someone needs to have an unplanned, urgent surgery
- A family member was in a car accident
- An elderly family member is injured
- You need to travel to support relatives that were victims of a natural disaster
- A family member is going into labor and needs you to take care of their other kids
- Someone is dealing with mental health issues and you need to be present to support them
4. Loss of a loved one
If someone you love passes away, the last thing you want to think about is work. On top of taking time to process your grief, you may need to deal with logistical and financial arrangements such as the funeral.
Some companies have a formal bereavement leave policy to cover death in the family, so be sure to check your employee handbook for guidelines. If not, you can talk to human resources or your manager directly about what happened and why you need time off.
5. Childcare issues
If you have a child, you know how challenging being a working parent is. Many unexpected situations arise, and you have no choice but to adapt quickly. While your childcare arrangements might cover things most of the time, you might suddenly encounter problems when you cannot utilize your usual arrangements.
Once again, things happen! Babysitters can get sick, and daycare centers can experience problems that cause them to close down temporarily. Even if you have school-aged kids, you might have to take off to watch your child as they stay home.
You can’t leave your child home alone. While some managers might be more understanding about this reason than others, it’s valid. Your kids’ safety should always be a top priority.
6. Food poisoning
Food poisoning wrecks your body and often, keeps you up all night. If you eat something bad and get sick afterwards, it’s completely normal to call out of work. You may need to catch up on sleep or simply take some extra time to recover.
7. Last-minute doctor’s appointment
Usually, you can give your employer advance notice if you need to take the day off for a medical appointment. But in some rare cases, you may need to call out at the last minute.
For example, say you’re waiting to see a specialist that has limited availability. If they call you in the morning to say that someone cancelled their appointment, you may want to jump at the chance to take that opening. If you don’t, it could be months before you see this doctor. It’s reasonable to miss work for the appointment. Make sure you communicate clearly with your manager to gain support and the time you need to focus on your health and well-being.
8. A personal day
Sometimes, you just have too much on your plate. Maybe you’re moving to a new apartment or juggling home renovations on top of your work schedule. Or maybe you’ve hit a bout of challenges and need to take a mental health day. Whatever you’re dealing with, a personal day could be what you need to stay sane, run errands, and catch up on life.
The one thing you shouldn’t use a personal day for is your job search. This is dishonest and could put your coworkers in a tough position if you call out at the last minute for no good reason. Use traditional paid time off for your interviews and plan ahead as much as you can.
9. You’ve been selected for jury duty
When it comes to bulletproof excuses to get out of work, this might be at the top of the list. If you get called for jury duty, you have no choice but to fulfil your civic duty. Employers must give you time off. Otherwise, they could end up breaking the law.
You can get called for jury duty at any time. It tends to come unexpectedly and can last for several days or weeks, depending on the case and whether you’re selected as a juror. If you’ve never been to jury duty, it’s not something many people enjoy.
Many people dread it and would actually rather go to work. But if you get that notice, you can’t ignore it.
10. Car trouble
Whether it’s a flat tire or a fender bender, car trouble can really ruin your day. Sometimes you can wait to address these issues until the weekend, but most likely, you’ll need to get that tire changed or submit insurance claims sooner rather than later.
If you have a less serious car problem, you can just call out of work for a few hours. But if you get into an accident on the freeway, you could be held up for much longer. Whatever the trouble, just be sure to inform your manager as soon as you can.
11. Internet connection issues
If you’re having trouble with your internet connection, remote work can feel just about impossible. But before you call out, see if you can get online using your cell phone’s hotspot or by going to a local cafe that has free WiFi.
If your WiFi problems are being caused by severe weather conditions, though, you may not want to leave your house to access the internet. If that’s the case, just take the day off and try to get online after the weather passes through.
12. It’s a special occasion
Do you have a special occasion coming up? As long as you provide plenty of advance notice, most employers won’t mind that you miss a little work. Taking some time off doesn’t always have to follow illness or disaster.
Special occasions don’t come often, so most managers consider this a perfectly acceptable reason to call off work. As always, be honest and upfront.
What constitutes a special occasion? Realistically, it’s anything that doesn’t occur in your everyday life. Maybe you have a class reunion, your child is doing a music performance, or you have a big family event. Each of those examples and more are good excuses for missing some work.
13. You have school
If you’re in school, your education is likely your top long-term priority. Whether you’re actively paying tuition or not, it costs money to go to school. Skipping it to work would be a waste, and most employers fully understand that.
Plus, failing to go to class could cause your grades to suffer.
There’s a good chance that you’re going to school to further your career. Whether you stay at the company you’re at now or transition to an entirely different industry, your priority should be to complete your education.
What makes your time at school a legitimate excuse for missing work is that it should be communicated to your employer ahead of time. Let them know you plan on attending classes, and help them find a schedule that works for both of you.
14. Your pet is ill
Here’s another good reason to call off work that many people experience. Your furry friend is another family member, and illness is a big deal. Pets can’t take care of themselves. While mild sickness usually isn’t a huge deal, it can snowball into something worse unless you seek veterinary care.
Going to the vet can be an all-day endeavour. Not only that, but you must be there to care for your animal, clean up accidents, and provide treatment.
This isn’t an excuse to get out of work that you should use often. But if your pet is seriously ill and needs your care, you shouldn’t feel bad about taking time off (even if it’s at the last minute).
15. Your pet is missing
Your pet going missing is just as much of a reasonable reason to call off work as caring for them when they’re ill. Again, it all comes down to the importance of your pet to you and your family. You love them immensely, so there’s no reason to hesitate to take time off work to find them when they go missing.
Whether they run away or accidentally wander outside, locating them can take an entire day. Don’t feel bad about wanting to focus your attention and energy on searching for your beloved pet rather than hopping on a conference call while they continue to wander away from your home.
16. Religious holiday or event
Most companies provide days off for nationally recognized holidays. But if you live in a country where many cultures are present, there are other religious holidays and events that millions of people take time off to enjoy.
Don’t be afraid to use this as a reason for calling off work. Just because no one else in your company is doing so doesn’t mean it’s not valid, and most managers are more than understanding. This is also something that you can easily notify your employer about ahead of time, since holidays are predictable events.
If your employer isn’t understanding, that could open up doors to legal issues due to the challenge of your religious freedom. Companies must respect your personal and spiritual needs. That’s why this reason for missing work is rarely contested.
17. Military obligations
Like school, your military obligations are more important than your job.
In most cases, you have no choice when it comes to your military obligations. For example, people in the National Guard have to do monthly drill weekends and a two-week training period every year. These obligations aren’t something you should skip.
There are even laws covering those work absences, making it a bulletproof excuse for getting out of work. Most managers usually won’t fight you on this, but it’s still professional to provide plenty of notice if you can.
18. Home emergency
What would you do if you had a sudden pipe burst in your basement? Will you address the issue or let thousands of dollars of damage occur? Most people (including your managers )will choose the former!
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.
But it doesn’t have to be that catastrophic either. Last-minute important deliveries that require a signature can be a valid excuse for calling off work as well.
Remember that you’ll likely be asked why this issue is occurring and why you didn’t have advanced notice. This is where it’s helpful to have a good relationship with your employer. If you’re an honest and hard worker, you’re less likely to get pushback.
19. You need to take care of a family member
This excuse for calling off work is similar to that of a family emergency. However, it might not occur suddenly, and you may have plenty of advance notice.
No matter what the situation is, needing to care for someone in your family is an excellent reason to miss work. You may be the only one available who can care for your loved one. It could be an unexpected illness, or you could have to provide more extensive care after surgery.
If there is no one else to turn to, you have no choice but to take the mantle of caregiver. As always, be professional and give your employer as much of a heads-up as possible.
20. You’re moving
Moving likely isn’t something that you do regularly, but it’s a monumental task everyone has to go through at some point. Ideally, you’d schedule moving duties outside of work hours. But once again, not everyone has that luxury.
Emergencies can also force you to move out suddenly. For example, you or a close family member might be dealing with eviction. There’s also the issue of natural disasters, fires, and more. Those are more common than you think.
Explain your situation and why you must miss work. We’ve all been there.
Tips on how to give reasons to call off work
If you need to contact your employer to call out of work, you might find it helpful to use the follow these tips:
1. Pick the best method of contact
When calling out of work, it’s important to contact your employer in the way they are most likely to quickly receive it. For instance, if you work in a restaurant where managers don’t have quick access to email, a phone call is probably best. However, if you work in an office and your boss is away for the week, it might be more effective to email or text.
Most importantly, if your company has a specific policy about calling out of work, make sure to follow it.
2. Be prompt
If you call out of work, letting your supervisor know about your absence as soon as possible allows them to plan to have your work covered if necessary. For example, if you know your cold is going to keep you out of work, let your employer know the night before instead of waiting until the morning. If your child has a school holiday coming up, you can ask to take that day as a personal day one or two weeks before.
If you don’t know until the same day you won’t be coming in, make contact as soon as you can, preferably early in the morning.
3. Keep it brief
It’s usually best to give your employer only the most basic details of why you need to miss work. Be sure to express an interest in getting back to work soon, and offer a means of assisting those who will be impacted by your absence.
4. Offer solutions
Sometimes the work you would miss by taking a sick day or personal day needs to be completed in your absence—especially if you work in shifts. To make sure your responsibilities are taken care of, consider asking a colleague to fill in for you.
For instance, if you work for a package delivery service, ask someone else on your team to cover your route. If you’re staying home for a non-emergency reason and are able to do your work from a computer, you could also ask your employer if you can work from home.
Setting an automated out-of-office email response can also let your clients, coworkers and other associates know what to expect from your absence and how to contact you while you’re out, if possible.
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