There will always be days when you would want to take leave from your daily grind. However, the excuse you give for missing work would depend on your company's leave policy.
Most company's have a leave policy that provides for the different types of leaves and the number of leave an employee can take in a year. The most common type of leaves is sick leaves, annual leaves, maternity and paternity leaves and casual leaves.
It is always advisable to take sick leaves only when you are genuinely sick. If you take too many sick leaves, your boss could get suspicious and ask for proofs like doctor's prescriptions or even a medical fitness certificate, which could put you in deep trouble. Minor illness and headaches do not need prescriptions or visits to the doctor, but too many headaches in a limited period can give the game away. Similarly, it is obviously not possible to fake maternity and paternity leaves unless you are a master of deception.
It is again better to stick to the company policy regarding paid vacations and annual leaves, which would be once a year or twice a year. Over-indulging in vacations can lead to the impression that you are not serious about your job.
It is for casual leaves, or missing work on occasional days when one is not sick that the realm of excuses comes into play.
A private survey for academic research, administered on Human Resource Managers in 2007 has found the following reasons most commonly cited for missing work:
1.Illness of spouse, parents or children
2.Headache of back-pain
3.Weddings and funerals in the family or friends-circle
4.Children's examination
5.Accidents or mishaps while on way to work
However, the reasons can vary and depends on one's circumstances and imaginations. Whatever the reason, there are some fundamental rules to follow while making up excuses
1. The first principle is to stick to the truth as far as possible. While one might get away by stretching the truth to some extent, it is easy to catch white lies, and bosses usually do that. For instance, it is very easy to verify whether an accident took place on your way to work as you claim.
2. The second principle is to avoid contradictions. For instance, taking a leave citing that the day is your grandmother's death anniversary, and then taking another leave two weeks later stating this same grandmother is ill is an obvious contradiction. Similarly, it is not a good idea to take a leave for your child's examination when your child is only two years old.
3. The excuse should not only be convincing, it should also sound convincing. For instance, a flat tire might prevent you from reaching work one day, but when this happens two or three times, the reason would no longer be convincing. If this has indeed happened two or three times genuinely, you will have to convince your boss by providing the reason for the repeated flat tire, some proof (possibly a receipt from the garage), and why you could not reach alternative arrangements to reach work even if you would be late.
4. The reason should be legitimate. For instance, if you are recently married and want to celebrate your wedding anniversary, the reason is legitimate. However, a bachelor giving this same reason is not.
5. Take care not to overdo the same excuses. Weddings or funerals in the family can happen, and they usually do. However, it is rare for say, 10 weddings, and 10 funerals in a year, and you wanting to attend all of them. However, on the same breath, having a different excuse every week would also not go down well with your boss.
6. The reason stated should confirm with the company's leave policy, or at least not contradict it openly. For instance, it might be the company's policy not to provide for leave on Christmas Eve for those in the morning shift, and it would not be a good idea to be absent for work and provide this very reason for not attending work.
7. Whatever be the reason, give as little information as possible. It could be that your boss could care less the reason for your absence and you could save your excuse for the next time. Giving as little information as possible also gives you considerable scope to fine-tune your reason as the situation demands.
Most employees monitor people who take leaves frequently, and analyze their leave patterns for possible abuse. Substantial leave abuse can affect pay-hikes and may lead to terminations. Another danger with missing work frequently is that if work gets done without you, the firm may decide to continue in the same fashion anyway, and you might become redundant, again loosing your job.
It is always advisable to miss work only on genuinely unavoidable occasions.