Work Excuses

nothing more creative than the "digestive issue"... No one wants to know the details of your diarrhea... and really don't want you at work with it.
 

Digestive issues here, too. I think I only called in sick when I wasn't maybe twice in my life. Besides being a workaholic, I have a superstition that if you call in sick when you are not, you'll get sick. That happened to me a couple times when I was in school, and it stuck with me.
 
Plus... digestive issues can go away in 24 hours and you feel fine... so coming back to work is easy.. just say "I had a Bug".. or maybe ate something that didn't agree.. If you call in with a cold, you have to pretend to be sick for longer.. colds don't go away in a day.
 
In all the places I worked which were usually large places, we didn't have to provide a reason for taking a sick day, just had to call in sick, so no fictitious illness. Of course if one were away more than 3 days, we had to give them a doctor's note to get paid.
 
I believe that's true all over... you don't have to tell them why, or how you are sick... but I think most folks feel like they have to come up with a reason..
 
The most creative excuses came from a young man that we had to hire as part of a business deal.....i.e. "give my son a job and you'll get the contract". The best way I can describe him is "wispy". One time he called in sick because he had seen an auto accident and it upset him so much that he had to lie in a dark room for a day or two. Another time, he and his wife were too worried about an approaching hurricane (that wasn't even supposed to hit us) that he had to stay home and "comfort" her and it was just going to be too much disturbance to come to work. And he got by with it. In other words, it was "hands off the wimp", the contract is worth it.
 
I missed a whole week's work because I had wisdom teeth on both sides pulled (I can't recall if it was 2 or 4 pulled) and had the dentist put me to sleep. My daughter said doing that is just giving the dentist permission to not be careful and really tear your mouth up. My face is round anyway and with it horribly swollen on both sides I totally looked like a pumpkin head. No way would I leave my house, not even if they had fired me. So when I went back I was still swollen a little and I could tell my boss lady thought I'd really been pushing the envelope but she didn't say anything except they were sure glad to have me back.
 
I never had to be creative with my times of missing work.
I think some of my reasons are so off the wall they may appear creative.
I have had to appear in court, I have been called out of work due to a death in the family, I have called into work just 4 days before my booked 2 weeks of holidays because of a bike accident (fractured ribs and hip), I have had to rush one daughter to the hospital for an injury, and another who was in labor.
All legit but after awhile I could see it all being a bit extreme. lol.
 
Carlos calls his boss in the morning:
Ah, boss I can't come to work today I am really sick. I have a headache, stomachache and my legs hurt I don't come to work.The boss says:
You know Carlos, I really need you today. When I feel like this I go to bed with my wife. That makes me feel better and
I can go to work. You should try that.
2 hours later Carlos calls:
Boss, I did what you said and I feel great, I'll be at work soon. And by the way, you got a nice house.
 
Funny, Ken.

I worked at a place at one time and one day I tried to go into work but couldn't seem to bring myself to get there and took my time, considering not going in at all, but eventually dragged myself into the office at around 11:00 after wandering around the city for a while. Finally after I got there, I explained to my manager what happened, he smiled and said, he's had days like that too, and done exactly the same thing.
 
I lied and admitted it as part of a union protest. The union got suspensions and warnings taken out file AND an excused with unpaid sick day which was always arbitrary anyway. The members who got creative with doctors notes got in more trouble than those let the union take care of the lie & callout for them. I called out one other time at another company after budget cuts for fulltime employees scheduling me for a 3 hour shift in the middle of the day. I rationalized it as being too angry to work which I was. And my stomach was not feeling great when I called in, never again.

If one lies don't broadcast because I can't stand those who say things like " I had to lie " or 'what else was I supposed to'. Admit lie ok, openly rationalize it perpetuates the lie. No one forced anyone to do anything, you volunteered to lie.
 
debodun said:
One time the house across the street burned down. There were firetrucks and hoses all over the road, blocking it. Couldn't even get out of my garage.
Click to expand...

A fire/police scene caused me to be late one time. The office was off a major highway but the direct or shorter route took you through residential neighborhoods and since the boss didn't hear about any tie ups or traffic jams on the big highway he gave me a verbal warning.
 
I have honestly never called in sick to work just to go and play.

I called in once to the nursing home laundry because I really needed to study for a test the next day. Even just mental health days I've rarely taken. I've been yelled at at work and just went back the next day.
 
Kitties said:
I have honestly never called in sick to work just to go and play.

I called in once to the nursing home laundry because I really needed to study for a test the next day. Even just mental health days I've rarely taken. I've been yelled at at work and just went back the next day.
Click to expand...

Every job I have had the same people always seemed to get sick on a Friday or Monday and if weekends were part of the deal even with overtime it was the same no shows. That's why they say never do business or buy anything made on a Monday or Friday.

I had jobs/managers that threatened to fire employee college students for studying on the job or if they found out you called out sick for 'college'. I've always found diverse polar opposite opinions on adult education with some thinking Oh you're going to school what ever you need' and others reminding us we are there to work and if personal priorities like going to school get in the way then leave. I was told make a decision(school or work) after only being able to work 3 hours of OPTIONAL OVERTIME one night so I could make my last class.
 
Last edited:
From the internet it must be true..
Mondays!

According to researchers in England, more than a third of all sick days occur on Mondays. And, weirdly, more people call in sick in January than any other month.
While back pain, viral illness and stress-related complaints are the main reasons people stay home, researcher Phiroze Bilimoria suspects there may be another underlying reason: "Monday sickness and frequent short-term absences can be a symptom of low employee engagement and morale within certain teams or departments."
Translation: If you tend to call in sick a lot on Mondays, you might hate your job.

Another:


More minor health problems and generally poorer working conditions may be to blame for a Finnish study's findings that women are about 50 percent more likely to take a few sick days off from work compared to their male counterparts.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki in Finland studied periods of sick leave among 5,470 female and 1,464 male municipal workers between 2002 and 2005. The employees, all of whom were between 40 and 60 years old, were also asked about their working lives and general health.
Results showed that female employees reported more physical health problems, physical work demands, and work fatigue than male employees.
Moreover, women were 46 percent more likely than men to call in sick from work for a few days. However, researchers found no statistically significant gender difference in the amount of long-term sick leave taken from work.
 
The best excuse is just before 10AM call in and say you left a bomb at the office set to go off at 10AM so I thought I'd take the day off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top