Readers Respond: Good Excuses for Missing Work

Responses: 64

By Alison Doyle, About.com Guide

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Say a cop pulled me over and towed my car and I got lost. Well, I was kicking rocks. I hit a guy in the eye and I had to carry him to the doctors and I left my phone at home and I left my keys in the car.
—Guest GUY :)

Witnessed a crime or accident and was taken by the authorities to give testimony.
—Guest Danmath

I woke up one morning for work and followed my daily routine: took out my beautiful snake, and sat down at my computer with a bowl of cereal on the table and the snake in my lap. While reading an absorbing email, she happened to slip out of my lap, up on to the table... and was halfway inside my printer before I realized where she was going! I had to call in to work to say I was going to be late because I had to extract my snake from my printer. My boss said I had 2 minutes to text him a picture of the snake in the printer or I was fired. I took the picture, sent it, and got to keep my job. It took me over 2 hours to get her out, but it was the funniest reason I've ever had to miss work.
—Guest Leah

Took my children by the store before work, tried to take a short cut and "got stuck on the ice". Could not go forward or backwards. Boss said, Good one, he is keeping a list and going to publish a book.
—Guest Louise

The snow plow broke down in front of my driveway and I can't get out to come to work. I they move it in time I'll be in. But of course when you go in the next day, you say it was there all day long.
—Guest Geri Morrow

Well this only works if you live near the sea, but I really did tell my boss I was a volunteer for the coastguard so i had beeper and would beep myself with an "emergency" everytime i got bored at work. After a while he said he just couldnt employ a coastguard volunteer because of the regular absence but he told me I was good person doing the right thing and he told me how "we need more people like you in this country" (this elaborate lie went on for 4months
—Guest Sean M

I had a first-time lunch meeting with a new client that I tried for 3 years to get a face-to-face meeting set-up. I slept thru my alarm. I called him up 10 minutes prior to the meeting and told him the honest truth, "I overslept my alarm... my wife and I were at the hospital with my brother and his wife from 1am to 8am to experience the birth of their first child... I got home and decided to sleep for a few hours before our meeting and honestly just woke up... I live an hour away so I will never be there on time... hope we can reschedule for later in the week." As a father and grandfather said it was the "best reason" he ever heard for being blown off.
—Guest davidr

When I really need a day, this is my favorite excuse...I am taking my Mother for a Colonoscopy. No one want to talk about THAT and I look like a wonderful daughter. It works every time!
—Guest Sue

Had a guy who was "catching up on some sleep after dealing with a bout of insomnia the past couple of days". Well thank goodness that's all he needed.
—Guest Name

I was once employed by a company and when it came to the leaving part, I acted properly and let my employer know I was looking to leave so they could sort out another employee to replace me, making sure the company would still have someone doing my tasks, I was duly fired for 'having the cheek to even look elsewhere' the way I was spoken to that day resulted with my employer swearing, yelling, belittling me and threatening to kick me out of the door in front of the entire office, a quick right hook to the side of his face and a boot in the stomach made me feel wonderful that day. (I was 35 at the time, and my employer was the 18 year old son of the owner (I still smile when i think about this)
—Guest Tom

An employee called in to say her electric power went out so she couldn't get the car out of the garage.
—Guest NANCY P.

I have a cat on my lap and she has me trained not to move while she is lounging on me and especially if she is purring. last time I tried to move her she ripped off my arm and I had to have it reattached. Lucky for me my neighbor really knew how to sew.
—ratsker

Employee called in 2 day sicks. On the 3rd day he stated he will be in late because his grandmother died. They put her body on a airplane and lost his grandmothers body on the airplane.
—Guest tori scott

If it hadn't happened to me . . . I was returning back to work after lunch (in a time before cell phones) and would have been on time taking my regular route but a tractor trailer unit unfamiliar with the area tried to go under a train bridge and realized he wouldn't fit so he tried to back up. No problem - the cars directly behind him also tried to back up but this place was small enough for many people to run home for lunch causing a mini traffic jam and the people in the back of the line couldn't see what was happening in the front of the line so it took a very long time for the problem to get cleared! It was almost an unbelievable excuse and too funny to retell.
—Guest InukshukSue

Alison Doyle
Job Searching Guide