Sometimes, you just need to miss work without taking your vacation days. But you’re not ill and you don’t have a valid reason to do so. The worst part is that it’s all happening at the last minute.
No need to worry about this any more because I’ve got you covered. These excuses to get out of work will get the job done every time!
19 Excuses To Get Out Of Work
Here is a list of the best excuses you’ll find! And the best part is that each one of them is believable.
1. Fever
Getting a sudden fever will always get you off work. However, now, during COVID-19, it’s an even more believable excuse. I mean, the last thing your boss would want is for you to come to the office if there’s the slightest chance that this fever is one of the first signs you’ve caught the virus.
Another upside of this excuse is that you’re coming off as a responsible employee and, more importantly, a responsible citizen. You’re taking your coworkers and the entire company into consideration.
Nevertheless, your boss might ask you to get yourself tested for COVID before going back to work. If this is the case, just do the test. Of course, it will be negative, but that isn’t evidence enough that you didn’t have a fever.
2. Medical appointment
One of the best excuses to get out of work is to say that you have a medical appointment. You can’t reschedule it, and you’ve been waiting to see this doctor for weeks now.
Don’t go into too many details but have a story ready if your boss asks you what’s wrong and why you’re seeing a doctor. Of course, you can always tell them that you want to keep things for yourself, but that would sound a bit suspicious.
Besides, your boss might not be asking you these questions to see if your story checks out— maybe they’re just worried about your health.
The only bad thing about medical appointments is that you might be required to just take half of the day off and return to work after your appointment. Also, you scheduled it before, so you can’t use it as an excuse to skip work on short notice.
3. Food poisoning
As careful as you are about your eating habits, food poisoning just happens sometimes, and you can’t avoid it. So, technically, it’s not your fault you’ve called in sick at the last minute— you’ve just gotten the symptoms, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Once again, the best policy is not to go into details when you notify your company that you’ll take a sick day. It will be enough to tell them that you’re having stomach problems and that you must have eaten something bad.
However, come up with a “just in case” plan: what if one of your team members asks you what you have eaten? You don’t want to get your tongue twisted, so have an answer ready!
Don’t give them a chance to ask for a doctor’s note. Instead, just say that you’ll get some rest and that you’ll go to the doctor’s office if you’re still not feeling better the next day.
Of course, by tomorrow, you’ll suddenly be as good as new, so there will be no need to see the doctor at all.
4. Death of a loved one
Okay, I’ll be honest with you: this is probably one of the worst excuses to get out of work. Don’t get me wrong— I’m not saying it won’t work out.
On the contrary, it most definitely will. However, it kind of goes against your moral compass. Also, in some cultures, it’s considered a sign of bad luck— they think you will actually summon the death of this particular family member you’ve falsely buried.
I mean, who lies about their loved one passing away? That’s right, only a desperate person. Therefore, if you fall under this category and really have no other option, what can I say besides go for it?
It will be enough to call your boss and to tell them that your loved one has passed away: I’m sure they won’t ask you any unnecessary questions.
5. Loved one’s illness
Let’s continue using family members to skip work. The same way you can say someone dear to you has passed away, you can also skip work by lying that they’re ill.
Of course, nobody will ask for a doctor’s note in this case. It’s a private matter, and your boss can’t ask for your family member’s medical history— they’re not the company’s employees.
The only thing you need to be careful about is to make the illness as serious as possible. I know that this sounds a bit harsh, but you’ll get more days off if you say that your close family member is dying than you will if you say they have a fever.
6. Family emergency
When you pronounce the words “emergency in the family”, nobody in their right mind will ask you any additional questions. And that’s exactly how you want things to be.
Don’t go into too many details, and don’t explain yourself. I mean, you have the right to privacy, and your employee definitely doesn’t need to know what’s going on in your family.
Besides, if you do too much explaining, you’ll only look suspicious— who has the time for that when there is something urgent happening in their home?
Just be careful about one thing: you can’t have a family emergency too often.
7. Death of a pet
For most people, pets are family. Therefore, the death of a pet is a good excuse to get yourself a day off.
But there is a trick here as well. What if you’re close with your boss or team members? I mean, you hang out with some of them in your free time, and maybe they’re even visiting you at home.
Isn’t it weird that you never mentioned having a dog? Don’t get me started with the fact that they didn’t see it in person or in photos.
I assume these people follow you on social media. And who doesn’t post photos of their pets on their accounts?
On the other hand, if you don’t hang out with them ever, this is a valid reason to get out of work.
8. Car trouble
You were headed to work, and your car broke down. There is nothing much you can do except wait for a tow truck in the middle of the road.
What else can you do? You can’t leave your car unattended and run your way to work, right?
The only acceptable way to use this excuse is to let your company know what happened at the last minute. If you call and say that you’re having car trouble the day before and that you can’t come to work tomorrow, they’ll just tell you to use a different form of transportation.
9. Home emergency
A home emergency is quite different from a family emergency. A home emergency is when your house or flat has been caught in a fire, or your water pipes broke and everything is under water.
This is one of the legitimate reasons to go home from work early. Just fake a phone call and say that your neighbors are calling you because there is a leak coming from your apartment.
After all, who will check up on that? Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t! What will your company do— ask for a receipt from a plumbing company?
Or you can just say that a handyman is coming to your house and that you need to leave ASAP.
10. Jury duty
I promise you one thing: this is not one of the most common excuses to get out of work. However, it definitely is a valid excuse!
You can’t skip jury duty, right? The only possible problem here is that your company might ask for some kind of proof that you were actually called to the jury.
Also, this is not something that just came up. You can’t just call and tell them that you won’t come to work today because you must have known about jury duty some time ago.
11. Religious holiday
A religious holiday is always a great excuse to skip work. There is just one condition for this to be a legitimate reason for taking a day off: your coworkers must know nothing about your life.
Or at least they shouldn’t be informed about your personal details, such as your religion. If this condition checks out, you’re good to go.
The best part about this is that you don’t actually have to explain anything. You can literally make up a religious holiday, and your boss can’t legally say anything about it— if they do, just mention your religious liberties.
Who knows, maybe you’re just a part of an ancient religion they’ve never heard of.
12. Mental health day
Sometimes, honesty is the best policy. Every employer will understand that, from time to time, you need time for yourself and will give you a personal day, no questions asked.
You feel like you’re about to burn out and you just need one entire day to relax from work – really relax and focus on your mental well-being.
There is no doctor’s appointment, your babysitter or childcare didn’t cancel on you at the last minute and you’re not physically ill— you’re just not feeling well.
If your company policy is to give you a day off in such conditions, you don’t have to make up other excuses; it will be enough to send them an email or a Slack message to notify your boss you’re taking a mental health day.
But what if they don’t understand you and ask you to come to work? What if they don’t take mental health as seriously as physical health? Well, in that case, you’ll know what you’ll do in the future: sadly, you’ll have no other choice but to lie.
13. Blood donation
In many countries, when you donate blood, you’re legally allowed to take a sick day, even if you’re feeling great. That is like a reward for your good deed.
But if that’s not your company’s policy, tell them that you’ve donated blood and that you’re not feeling very well. Therefore, you need a day off.
Just remember one thing: no medical institution will allow you to donate blood whenever you feel like it. There must be two or three months in between donations, so have that in mind if you’re using this as one of the excuses to get out of work.
At the end of the day, if you’re healthy, why wouldn’t you actually do it? You’ll get a day off, and you’ll help save someone’s life— it looks like a win-win situation to me!
14. Loved one’s wedding
Out of all the things you might miss, a loved one’s wedding day is not it. It doesn’t matter if it’s your family member or a close friend getting married— it’s the person you deeply care about, and you simply have to attend.
Most weddings take place on weekends, but it’s not against the law to get married on a weekday. The best day to make up for a wedding is definitely Friday.
Besides being a common reason to get out of work, it also gives you a long weekend to get some rest or finish your errands.
What if your friends at work ask for photos? Just say that taking pictures was forbidden and that you’ll show the photos once you get the official ones. Before you know it, they’ll forget they ever asked.
15. A new baby
You can never know for sure when a newborn is coming into this world unless there is a C-section scheduled in advance. That is exactly why this is one of the most valid excuses to skip work on short notice or to leave work early.
I mean, you’ve just been informed that your close friend, a sibling, or someone else you care for deeply just had a baby, and you simply must go and see them or even take them home from the hospital.
Just don’t forget that you’ve made this baby up. The last thing you want is your coworker asking you about your imaginary nephew months from now, and you ask them what they’re talking about!
16. Car accident
When you call work and tell them that you’re having car troubles, it means that your car broke down. However, there is a more serious scenario to use if you really want your boss to believe you: just tell them that you’ve been in a car accident.
The important thing here is not to make up any serious injuries. If you do, you’ll have to take more sick days, and you’ll need a doctor’s note for that.
Even though I advised you not to go into too many details when coming up with excuses to get out of work. Your boss probably won’t ask too many questions now but trust me, when you come back to work, all of your coworkers will probably want to know more about this accident.
Check your facts and readily answer questions about who the driver was and if anyone is hurt.
17. Headache
You don’t need a special diagnosis for this sick day. We all have headaches from time to time, but in your case, no pill is working for you, and you simply must call in sick.
The best part is that nobody will ask for proof of this when you return to work. You’ve just had a headache and going to the doctor’s office hasn’t even crossed your mind.
Also, there is nothing special about taking one sick day because of the headache.
18. You’ve been robbed
You were a victim of a terrible robbery. Well, at least, that’s what your boss will think when you pay him a call.
Everything was stolen from you, including both your phone and your wallet. It’s practically impossible for you to come to work after the stress you’ve been through.
This is also an amazing excuse if you forgot to let your employee know that you won’t be coming in. Your phone, including all of your passwords, was stolen, and you had no way of contacting them.
19. Back pain
If you have chronic back pain, it’s an excuse you can use all the time to stay off work— as long as you’re not exaggerating. This is a believable reason not to come into the office, but it doesn’t mean that you should send a sick day email every other week.
If you do so, your boss is likely to ask for a doctor’s note.
How To Get Out Of Work?
When you plan on skipping work, your boss is not the only one you should notify about it. It would be polite if you sent a Slack message or an email to your team members as well.
Have in mind that one of these people will have to take your load of work for today, so it would be nice to keep them informed if nothing else.
Another important thing you must not forget about is rescheduling your meetings. Even though you’re sick, you should always be as professional as possible.
Of course, don’t use the same excuse too often. Keep track of your lies unless you want to bury the same family member more than once.
Finally, get off social media for the day! You can’t expect your company to believe your lies if someone catches you posting new selfies on the beach. Remember: these are not your vacation days!
In the end, here’s a piece of career advice: whatever you do, never admit that you’re going for a job interview, or meeting up with a recruiter for a new position. The company will get all offended about it, and they probably won’t grant you a day off.
What’s a good call out excuse?
A great excuse is to check out your background story and not too many details. You can’t say that you have a sick child if everyone in the office knows you have no kids. That’s a rookie mistake and a textbook example of a bad excuse that will make you look like a fool.
At the same time, if you give out too many details, you’ll get trapped in your own web of lies, and you’ll look suspicious. For a good excuse, you have to be as concrete and brief as possible.
Another important thing is not to forget what you lied about. Let’s say that you told your boss you have severe back pain. Don’t say that your back is perfectly fine a few months from now while casually speaking to a coworker.
How do I get out of work immediately?
The best way to get out of work right away is to stage a fake phone call. You’re in the middle of work, and suddenly, a family member is calling you to come ASAP.
When your boss sees this, they won’t ask any additional questions. Even if they hate your guts, they’ll let you leave and wish you good luck.
To Wrap Up:
Let’s get one thing clear: using these excuses to get out of work is only acceptable in emergencies and if you have an unreasonable boss.
On the other hand, if your boss cares for you and understands that you simply have to miss work from time to time, there is absolutely no need to lie.
Here’s another important warning: don’t use these excuses too often. Otherwise, you’ll be on a job search before you know it because they’ll realize what you’re doing!