ALT-2 Best Excuses for Calling in Sick
As an employee you have entered into a contract with your employer in which you exchange your time and energy for a wage. While you are reasonably expected to attend every hour that you are scheduled to work, sometimes life gets in the way. An unfortunate oversight of most large companies, is that they do not have a system in place for giving people time off to catch up on all those life errands that we so frequently fall behind on. When was the last time you worked for a company that offered time off for marriage counseling? Or personal time with your ten year old daughter who was just crushed by her first true love? While some progressive companies do offer "personal days," most of them only offer "sick days." And as the economy continues to shrink and employee benefits along with it, you shouldn't expect too many of those.
Your family is more important than your job. Your emotional and psychological health is more important than your physical health. But if your only option for claiming back a single day of your own life from an unsympathetic overlord is to play the physical health card, then it is time for you to call in sick.
If you are going to call in sick, the earlier you call the better. Calling in one minute before your shift starts will no doubt inconvenience your boss greatly. In fact, calling before anyone is in the workplace and leaving a voice mail would be the best case scenario. That way, right when your supervisor arrives, he/she knows that you aren't coming in and has time to cover your shift. Also, if he/she doesn't call you back to make sure that you aren't coming in, then you won't have to field any questions from him/her.
Many people have recommendations for how to fake symptoms and really convey how sick you are. I wouldn't bother with this. Most supervisors recognize that as an adult, you should be able to determine for yourself whether or not you are healthy enough to come to work. I also would advise against lying, because something you say could be discovered later to be false. The more lies you tell, the more you will have to remember later.
So here are some simple, brief statements to use when you need the day off:
"I have a personal issue to deal with immediately. What can I do to help get my shift covered?"
"I need to use one of my sick days today. Could you let me know on Monday what work I need to catch up on?"
"I won't be in the office today, but I'm caught up on my work right now, so you should be fine without me."
Notice that you are not asking for the day off, you are telling your boss that you are not coming in. But at the same time you are communicating that you don't want to inconvenience him or her; or the rest of the workplace. The message you are conveying is: "I am a good employee, but I won't be there for one day."
Obviously you should not abuse your employer by calling in sick regularly. If this happens, expect to be ordered to bring in a doctor's note every time you call in sick in the future. But if you are normally a reliable employee, and you really just need this one day off, then most employers will not have a problem giving it to you.
