Ranked by believability:
Tier 1: Hardest to question
- Stomach bug — vague, common, no follow-up.
- Migraine — specific enough to be credible, no documentation needed.
- Family emergency — boundaries-respecting, brief.
Tier 2: Strong with brief delivery
- Sick child — if you have kids.
- Food poisoning — vivid, brief.
- Doctor's appointment — real and defensible.
- Mental health day — increasingly accepted.
Tier 3: Logistics
- Plumber / electrician for service window.
- Power outage / internet down.
- Car trouble.
- Burst pipe / home flooding.
Tier 4: Real-only
- Bereavement. Don't fake. If real, take it.
- Jury duty. Real summons only.
- Religious observance. Real.
How to deliver each
- Health-related: brief, no detail. "Stomach bug, taking the day."
- Family emergency: firm boundary. "Family emergency, will fill you in when I can."
- Logistics: specific and time-bounded. "Plumber's here, 4-hour window."
- Mental health: straightforward. "Need to take a mental health day."
Common mistakes
- Over-explaining (sounds rehearsed)
- Posting on social media that day
- Repeating the same excuse within the same month
- Long absence with no updates
The bigger question
If you're calling out frequently, the job probably isn't right. Sorce auto-applies to 5M+ jobs. 40 free swipes/day. Maybe the answer is a different role.
For more: reasons to call out of work, bulletproof excuses to get out of work, how to call out of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the #1 reason to call out?
- Stomach bug — vague enough to avoid follow-up, common enough that managers don't probe, hard to disprove.
- Are health-related excuses better than logistics?
- Generally yes. Health excuses don't require follow-up. Logistics (plumber, car) sometimes invite 'why didn't you arrange differently?'
- Is mental health day a good reason now?
- Yes — increasingly accepted at modern offices. Worth being honest about if your manager is reasonable.
- What's the worst reason to give?
- Anything obviously fake, anything that requires documentation you don't have, or any excuse you've already used recently.