The best excuses for missing work may not match the reality of why you need a day off. For that reason, some of the following excuses may work better than the truth. Even the most difficult boss or supervisor would find it difficult to reject these proven explanations as to why your illness cannot be ignored.

Upset stomach:

Vomiting is not socially acceptable in social or work situations. Since the source of upset stomachs can range from the stomach flu to food poisoning, most bosses accept the idea that you cannot work if vomiting is an issue. In addition, diarrhea often accompanies this malady. Between these two symptoms of food poisoning, no boss would ask you to "grin and bear it" and go to work anyway.

Severe headache:

Only one person in the world knows how your head feels from the inside. Anyone who claims a migraine, cluster, or sinus related headache should be able to convince their boss that working would be undesirable with severe headache pain. Even eye-strain can be used as a potential cause of headaches. Employees unable to function at normal efficiency are not desirable to most employers.

Coming down with something:

Since every employer is aware of how serious influenza can be, stating that you feel terrible can be the ticket for a sick day. The flu is nothing that any boss wants to invite into the office, and sometimes we actually think that we may be getting the flu, when actually we just did not feel well. A valued employee who usually does not complain will find this approach effective.

Family problems:

Slave drivers may not care much about your family life, but good employers are usually sympathetic to those with family problems. Even bosses have families, and can appreciate the occasional need to tend to such problems. One particular advantage to this excuse is that you don't have to claim to be sick. An employee deemed to be sickly is not valued as highly as an employee considered to be dependable.

Personal day:

If your work responsibility is up to date, and a one day absence will not hurt the normal office day's operation; asking for a personal day off is a possibility. It is not even necessary to reveal the nature of a specific reason if it is stated to be personal. While it may not be granted as a paid sick day, bosses appreciate the honesty of employees who honestly state their wishes without any attempts to "make up" excuses.

Since jobs are an important item in today's business climate, being a dependable employee and working your normal schedule is the best idea of them all. However, when reasonable excuses are needed, you could do worse than the suggestions mentioned above.

Learn more about this author, Bob Schmidt.
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