Excuses to Work From Home [And What Exactly to Say to Your Boss]

Career Success

Nov 9

The concept of working from home has had its ups and downs over the past few years. With more and more employers moving to hybrid work arrangements or a complete return to the office, I thought I’d compile some of the best excuses to work from home I’ve heard over the past ten years.

Whether you’re looking for a reason to work from home for a day or work from home long-term, here’s what some of the best have said to get approval to work from home. Instead of scrambling at the last minute for an excuse that your manager will accept, use one of these.

In this article you’ll find:

23 Last-Minute Excuses to Work From Home

10 Reasons to Work Temporarily From Home

And 8 Ways to Make The Case for Working From Home Permanently

And I’ll include example talk tracks for each of them.

Why Listen to Me?

I’ve worked hybrid and permanently remote jobs since 2017. In the past decade as a recruiter and talent manager, I’ve managed consultants at hundreds of different companies. I’ve seen and heard a lot of excuses people give for working remotely. I’ve even used some myself. The ideas in this article are the ones that I’ve found to be the most successful.

Tips to Get a Work From Home Arrangement

Before I tell you about the great excuses I’ve heard to WFH, I want to share some tips that will help you achieve your goals - in this case, working from home.

If you need a last-minute reason to work from home for a day or two, make sure it’s a reason that your boss will empathize with.
If you need a more permanent work-from-home arrangement, talk about what’s in it for your supervisor. You need to make the case for more productivity and lower costs.
It helps to assure your boss that you will still hit or exceed your metrics for the day. If you can’t achieve that, consider taking the day off instead.
If you are giving a last-minute excuse, it’s always best to call your boss directly. They can hear the tone in your voice and will empathize more.
Be honest when utilizing one of these excuses. Excuses can strain your relationship.
Don’t overuse these too often, again, it can strain your relationship.
You need an element of trust to make these work. Communicating clearly, setting realistic goals, and exceeding expectations on a regular basis at work will give you more leverage.
If you do work from home, always be available during working hours and respond to messages promptly.
If you can’t be available during certain hours, make sure your team and supervisor know.
It’s often best to have a public calendar so people can see what you are working on throughout the day. Transparency is key to making this work. Providing regular updates while you’re working from home will help also.
Treat working from home like working from the office. Dress the same for video meetings, follow company policies, and be present like you would if you were in the office.
Be prepared for some managers to be tough on your requests. They may push back.
These excuses (or reasons) only work if you have a job that is capable of being completed from home. Not all jobs and not all companies are set up with the ability or infrastructure to allow work-from-home situations.

Last Minute Excuse to Work From Home

Sometimes life happens and things are out of your control. This may lead you to ask your boss to work from home for a day or two. Here are some of the best reasons I’ve heard for last-minute excuses.

Dental Emergency

I can personally say that I’ve woken up with an aching tooth before. Others have told me that after having dental work done, they’ve had to return a day or two later to have something looked at. Either way, this could spring up on you with little to no notice. Rather than take an entire day off for a 30-minute dentist visit, you could ask to work from home.

Cole,
I had a root canal done on Tuesday and this morning I’m having intense pain in the back of my mouth. The dentist is able to get me in, but it’s in the middle of the day. Would it be ok if I work from home today so I can still make significant progress on my projects? Driving too and from the office twice is simply going to take away over half of my working hours today and I think working from home might be a better solution.

Doctor Appointment

Some doctor appointments are scheduled well in advance, but every now and then we get a call with an opening sooner. It’s hard for someone to say no to this reason.

Cole,
My doctor just called and because of a cancellation, they are able to see me today instead of next week. The appointment is only 30 minutes long, but because of the time of day, it would severely impact my ability to make meaningful progress on my work. Is it possible for me to work from home today? I would be available during normal business hours if anyone needs anything, except for between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. for the doctor's appointment.

Household Emergency

One thing I’ve learned over the years is when you own a home, something is always bound to happen. A wind storm knocks down a tree in your backyard, a pipe springs a leak and your closet is now flooded, or your internet went out and you need the cable company to come and fix it. Whatever it is, these things come up and most people understand that you need to be home for service people to come to your house.

Cole,
I woke up this morning to a burst pipe and my living room is flooded. I need to stay home today and wait for the plumber to show up this morning. Rather than take the day off, can I work from home? I just need to be here when they show up, but outside of that, there shouldn’t be any disruptions to my day and I feel I can still make meaningful progress on our backlog.

Important Package

I don’t know how successful this one will be, but it might work. The reason I’ve seen many managers not accept this excuse is because you could also have your packages delivered to the office. I’ve done it many times with important things like new iPhones. But if you didn’t have the foresight to ship your package to the office and you get the notification that it’s out for delivery today, this could be a reason to work from home while you wait.

Cole,
I have a new iPhone being delivered today and I’m worried about it sitting on my front doorstep all day. I’d like to work from home today while I wait for the package. I have everything I need and I’ll make myself available to anyone on the team for status updates as well. Would it be ok if I work from home while waiting on this package?

Injury

Whether it was a bad move at your community basketball game last night or you simply threw out your back for a reason unknown to you, sometimes we can still work even if we’re injured. But we may not be able to commute or sit in an office chair for hours with certain injuries.

Cole,
Last night at our company basketball tournament I think I twisted or sprained my ankle and it’s difficult to walk or drive. I’d like to ask permission to work from home for the next two days while I recover. Fortunately, I don’t type with my feet so I’m more than capable of working, it’s just making it into the office poses some challenges.

Mental Health

Maybe you’re just not feeling 100% like yourself today. There’s nothing wrong with that. I also feel like more and more employers are starting to see the importance of mental health and understanding when people need a break. Of course, there are still many out there who won’t, but it’s improving. If you think your boss will go for it, this could be your reason to work from home for the day.

Cole,
I woke up this morning not feeling 100% me. I’ve had some additional stress at work and with month-end close starting today, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I also don’t want to leave the team hanging during the month-end close if I take a personal day. I’d like to request to work from home today. I think staying home will give me the space I need to destress and I’m confident that I can also get all the reconciliations done from home before I shut down for the day. I will also keep my Slack on all day so it will be as if I was there in the office.

Pregnancy

Anyone who has been pregnant or is a partner to someone who is pregnant knows that sometimes you wake up feeling terrible. You might have aches, you might have morning sickness, or you just don’t feel like sitting in a car today. You may also be toward the end of your term and rather than take maternity leave early, you prefer to work but can’t work from the office.

Cole,
As you know my baby is due in the next two weeks and it’s become more and more challenging to get around. I’ve been contemplating starting my maternity leave early, but with the important projects we’re trying to wrap up, I’d rather work from home for a few weeks until the baby arrives. What are your thoughts about me working remotely for the next week or two?

Illness

Many supervisors don’t want you coming to work sick and taking out everyone else with your fever. At the same time, you may be able to still work from home if you choose. While it used to be more common for people to come to work sick, since the pandemic I’ve started to see a cultural change happening where coming to work sick is becoming more taboo than it used to be.

Cole,
I woke up with a fever this morning and had some nausea through the night. I feel better now and I’m able to work but I don’t want to get the whole office sick. Would it be okay for me to work from home today?

Car Problems

If you have a car, you’re going to eventually have a problem with it. Sometimes we wake up to a flat tire or the engine won’t start. Whatever it is, this is usually a valid reason to work from home.

Cole,
As I was about to leave for the office this morning, I realized that I had a flat tire. It’s not safe to drive 30 miles on it so I’ve made an appointment to have it replaced today at noon. In the meantime, I’d like to work from home.

Family Death

Any human being can empathize with someone who has lost a family member. I can still remember being woken up at 4 a.m. one morning with the sudden news that one of my close family members had been killed in a car accident. You may need to take time off for this, but if you feel like you can work at the same time, you can ask to work remotely for a day or two.

Cole,
My brother passed away this morning from cancer and I need to be home with my family. I also know that we have to complete the proposal for X account by tomorrow. I’d like to work remotely today on the proposal. I think it will help take my mind off of things while I am present for my family at the same time. Would it be okay to work from home today?

Food Poisoning

Many of us have eaten something that doesn’t sit right or outright poisons us. You may have a gluten intolerance or irritable bowel syndrome. Either way, many supervisors understand why you wouldn’t be very efficient in the office.

Cole,
I’ve been up most of the night due to what I suspect is food poisoning from a restaurant last night. As you can probably imagine, I don’t think I’d be very effective in the office today. Rather I’d like to propose that I work from home today while I work out my digestive issues.

Sick Child

Most supervisors will let you work from home if you have a sick kid. While some parents send their kids to school sick (super uncool by the way if you can help it), the right thing. todo would be to stay home with them if you have sick days or a job that you can do from home. It would take a real special type of boss not to allow you to work from home while taking care of your sick child.

Cole,
My son woke up with a fever and cough. I’m going to keep him home from school today, but rather than take the day off myself, I’d like to work remotely from the house. With the exception of picking up his prescription around 10 a.m., I’ll be available all day.

Migraine

If you’ve ever woken up with a severe headache, you’re not alone. About 12% of adults suffer from migraines (NIH). If your manager has ever suffered one, they’re likely to sympathize with your situation.

Cole,
I woke up with a severe migraine this morning and I won’t be able to make it into the office. Is it possible to work from home today? I think some medicine and staying in will do some good, but I’d also like to get my normal workload completed too.

Child Care

Depending on your childcare setup, you may find yourself last minute without a babysitter. Maybe grandparents watch your kid during the day and they’re sick today or there’s no power at the daycare and they’ve had to cancel services for the day. Most managers understand these things happen.

Cole,
My three year old’s daycare just sent me an email stating that they will not be open today. Apparently there was a power outage at the facility and they don’t expect it to be turned back on until tomorrow. Because of this I need to work from home today. I expect to complete all my business reviews for our enterprise clients today and I’ll be available if anyone needs anything.

Covid

I don’t know many people who want a Covid positive person sitting next to them in the office. Talk about a good way to wipe out your entire office staff’s productivity. Whether you’ve been exposed or tested positive, this is usually a valid excuse to work from home.

Cole,
I just found out that I was exposed to Covid this morning. Two days ago I spent quite a bit of time with the exposed person in close quarters and I’m concerned that I may have it as well. The doctor says I can’t test until at least Day 3 (tomorrow) and I don’t want to risk taking out the entire office. For the most part, I feel fine but out of concern for everyone else, I’d like to request to work from home for today.
I will test tomorrow and hopefully, it will be negative.

Car Accident

Almost every manager I’ve ever met is understanding when someone has been in a car accident. You may need to take the day off to deal with any stress, car repairs, police reports, and insurance claims. But in some instances, you may still be able to work, only without your car.

Cole,
You’re probably wondering why I didn’t show up to work this morning. On my way to the office, I was in a car accident. Everyone is fine, but my car is pretty damaged. I need to take this morning off to speak with the insurance company and take a minute for myself, but I’d like to work from home for the second half of the day. I have some key client calls that I was planning to make today and I don’t want to push them into tomorrow. Would it be ok if I work from home from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. today?

Burglary

I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t had to experience this firsthand, but I have known others who have had their cars broken into overnight. Most people understand the stress this causes.

Cole,
I woke up to a smashed car window and my vehicle being vandalized. I’m filing a police report this morning and I have to wait for instructions from the insurance company. Obviously, I don’t think it’s safe to drive to the office. Could I work from home today while I work out the next steps with the insurance company?

Delayed Flight

Anyone who has flown in the past few years knows that flight disruptions are becoming more and more common. You could be returning from a business trip or vacation. It doesn’t make a difference when your flight is delayed or canceled.

Cole,
I was planning on returning to the office tomorrow after a weekend in San Francisco, but my flight has been canceled. The next available flight leaves tomorrow night so I’ll be staying an extra day here. Would it be possible to work remotely from the hotel? I have everything I need to accomplish my goals for the day.

Bad Weather

This doesn’t have to be a last-minute excuse, but it could be. I grew up in the Midwest and there were many mornings when you woke up to a foot of snow and black ice all over the road. No one wants a car accident on their conscience. This is a great excuse to work from home for the day.

Cole,
A bad ice storm went through my area last night and the roads are covered with black ice and snow. I don’t think it’s safe to drive into the office today. Because of this I’d like to work remotely from home out of safety concerns.

Alarm Never Went Off

Alright, this probably isn’t the best excuse and I certainly wouldn’t use it too often. But life does happen and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t overslept at least once in their professional career. Heck, I even worked with someone once who woke up early and thought it was a weekend and started making pancakes for their family. Turns out it was Friday and they used a similar reason to work from home for the day.

Cole,
My alarm never went off this morning. I want to first apologize for any inconvenience this causes you or the team. I’d like to work from home today if possible so I can get to work right away and not miss another two hours getting ready and commuting into the office.

No Water

This is a real story. Two cars hit a fire hydrant two times in one week in my neighborhood and no one had water as a result of it. I couldn’t shower or anything. I didn’t want to go into the office smelling like a ripe melon, so I used this as a reason to work from home both days.

Cole,
Apparently, a car took out a hydrant in our neighborhood this morning and as a result, I have no water pressure. We have no water whatsoever. If you approve, I’ll be working from home today so the rest of the office doesn’t have to witness my grunge.

Misplaced Keys

This has happened to me several times in my professional career. I can’t remember where I put my car keys. After an hour of searching, I finally decided it was time to email my boss and ask to work from home.

Cole,
I seem to have misplaced my car keys. I’ve been searching for an hour and cannot find them. Rather than miss the entire day or show up hours later, I’d like to get started on work from home today.

Bear in Backyard

I suppose it doesn’t have to be a bear. You could have any kind of wildlife in your yard that could be a threat to your safety. I live in California and it’s not uncommon for someone to have a bear show up in their backyard.

Cole,
I woke up this morning to a bear in my backyard. I’ve called Fish and Wildlife and they are coming to deal with the situation, but they’ve advised me not to leave my home. Can I work from home today while I wait for our new bear friend to be relocated?

Temporary Excuses to Work From Home [With Examples]

These excuses are best used when you need to work from home temporarily, but not last minute. You can use these for planned events where you may wish to work from home for a day or two.

Traffic

There are plenty of traffic studies done in metropolitan areas by universities. For example, one done by UCLA shows that Thursday is the worst traffic day in the Los Angeles region. Rather than spend an extra 20 minutes on the road, you could ask to work from home. You could even sell it as you can work more hours because you’re not sitting in traffic. You’d still come out on top with more time for yourself.

Cole,
Take a look at this study done by UCLA. It confirms what I’ve been feeling every Thursday. On average, we spend 20 extra minutes in traffic commuting to the office that day. That’s a total of almost three hours a day for most of us.
What are your thoughts about working from home on Thursdays? I know I would be more energized starting my day without sitting in an extra 20 minutes of traffic and I could get an extra hour of work in easily. Would you be open to trying this out and seeing if we notice an increase in productivity?

Big Projects

Perhaps you have. big project that is due and you simply need some quiet space away from the interruptions of the office to work on it. This could be a reason you ask for a few days of remote work.

Cole,
That RFP deadline is coming up next week and it has been really difficult to make meaningful progress with the constant interruptions at the office. I’d like to work from home for a couple of days this week so I can focus on it without any disruptions. If we can secure it, it’s worth $2.4M annually. I just need the time to focus on it away from everything.

Jury Duty

I don’t know anyone who dreams of being summoned for a jury, but we all have to do our civic duty from time to time. Some states pay you for jury duty, but the pay is usually nothing compared to your regular wages. Depending on where you’re at in the process, you could still work remotely.

Cole,
I’ve been selected for jury duty and have to report this Friday. Most of the day I’ll be sitting in the waiting room and I’d like to get some work done. Would it be ok if I work remotely? I’ll turn my slack status on while I’m working in case anyone needs anything and off if they require me to sit for selection so you know I’m not working at that time.

Trade Appointment

If you own a property, chances are you eventually will have work done on that property. You may need to replace pipes, and floors, or go through a kitchen remodel. Many times you will need to be present during some installations. For that, you could ask to work remotely.

Cole,
Next week I have our cabinet company coming in to replace our kitchen cabinets on Thursday and Friday. Can I work from home on those days so I can let the contractors in and out as well as keep up with my workload?

Road Work

I don’t know about where you live, but it seems like there is constant road work being done around my town. Oftentimes this makes commuting twice as long due to increased traffic and sometimes having to go out of your way to get to your destination.

Cole,
They are shutting down Interstate 91 on Wednesday for repairs and the only alternative way to the office is to go around Mt. Chasta, adding over 2 hours to my commute. Rather than be exhausted from the extra commute each day, I’d like to work from home if you approve.

Return Cable Box

Many of us have switched to streaming services, but some of us still have Fiber Optic cable for TV and internet. When you change services, they often require you to return the equipment to a local store or shipping hub. If you’ve done this before, I don’t have to tell you how much of a hassle it can be. Some managers may let you work from home while you also take care of personal business.

Cole,
We canceled our cable service last week and I have to return this equipment to their retail store which is in (city). Rather than take time off to commute 30 minutes south and then another 60 minutes north to the office, I’d like to propose that I work from home next Tuesday to take care of this and still be productive on my tasks. I will only be offline for about an hour in the morning and then I can work the rest of the day.

Preparing for an Event

Depending on your job, you may have an important event coming up and similar to a large project, you need time to prepare. You may not only be working from home but also running around to vendors in a hybrid capacity for a few days.

Cole,
We’ve got the Gala coming up next week and I need a couple of days to really focus on preparing for the event. As long as you approve, I'll be working remotely for the next three days as I meet with vendors and review everything we need to accomplish for the event.

Recovery from Surgery

Most people are given time off for recovery, but depending on the nature of our work, some of us may be able to still work from home. This is a very valid reason that many managers accept as a temporary work from home situation.

Cole,
As I mentioned earlier, I have my vasectomy coming up next Thursday. Depending on how I feel, I’d like to work from home on Friday as I continue to recover. Would this be okay with you?

Taking Your Teen to College

Any decent person with kids won’t hold it against you for taking your teen to college. Depending on how far away the university is, you may be out of the office for a few days. Some of those days you may want to take off from work, but some of them you may wish to work remotely from a hotel.

Cole,
I’m taking Brandon to college for the first time next week - a big milestone! Monday and Wednesday we have events that we are attending with him, but Tuesday I’m stuck in the hotel all day. I’d like to make some progress on our work. Would it be okay to work remotely on Tuesday instead of taking the day off?

Potty Training

This is not a great excuse, but if your boss is a pet lover, they may understand. A new pet is a lot of work and potty training is part of the territory.

Cole,
We rescued a new puppy last night from the shelter and she’s not potty trained yet. I don’t have anyone to stay home with her today as she gets acclimated to our home. Would you be ok if I work from home for the next two days?

Good Excuses to Work From Home Permanently

For some, we may be searching for a more permanent reason to pitch to our boss for working from home. Throughout my career, I’ve used temporary reasons many times, but when my wife and I had our first child, I sought to work from home permanently.

Here are some of the business reasons I used to make my case to work from home. Others are reasons I’ve heard from others who have successfully achieved the buy-in from their organizations to work from home either in a hybrid or permanent capacity.

Try them out and let me know what works for you in the comments at the end of the article.

Good excuses to work from home permanently

Distractions

I think many of us can admit that most office environments can be quite distracting. When I worked in an office, some days I felt like a receptionist with everyone knocking on my door or stepping into my cubicle for something they needed. Sometimes they didn’t even need anything, but just wanted to share the latest office gossip. It’s super unproductive.

Making the case that you need time to focus on your work, free of distractions could be a valid point if you’re pitching your boss the idea of working from home.

Increased Productivity

This one correlates with removing distractions. Not everyone is more productive at home, but if you’re the self-motivated type and you don’t have other distractions waiting for you at home, this could be the business case you make.

Be aware that if you make the case that you’ll be more productive at home, you best be prepared to back it up with performance metrics quickly after you get approval. Make sure you and your manager agree on what success looks like. Having predetermined KPIs (key performance indicators) will ensure everyone can monitor your success working from home.

Commute Time

I live in the Greater Los Angeles area. It’s an urban sprawl unlike many places in the country and with that comes a lot of traffic. Commuting 10 miles can take over an hour easily. That commute not only takes away from your working hours during the week, but it also can cause mental and physical fatigue which impacts the quality of your work.

Making the case to work from home because of long commutes has worked for many people in the past. Be sure when you pitch this idea you talk about the ability to get more done and possibly even work longer hours in exchange. If your commute was 2 hours per day and you offered to start 30 minutes earlier working from home, you’ve still gained back an hour and a half each day.

Daycare Costs

Daycare costs among other things have increased drastically over the past few years. Some people are paying over $17,000 for child care (U.S. Dept of Labor). Picture this. You’re a high-performing employee performing a critical role for a company. You decide to have a child, but you don’t want to take a $17,000 hit to your financials.

Sometimes I’ve seen employers start daycare programs or reimburse for some of the costs. In other instances, I’ve seen them allow employees to work from home on a hybrid or permanent basis.

Keep in mind that many employers are weary about this reason because they don’t understand how you’ll be able to get any work done while taking care of a young child. And from one parent to another, it is hard. But we always find a way to stretch ourselves. Parents are like superhumans.

If you make the pitch to work from home to your manager for this reason, be sure to reinforce that you can still exceed performance metrics. You may have to pitch it to them on a trial basis. Be sure you knock it out of the park so you can make your case later to continue working from home. It will be challenging, but as someone who’s done it - you can too!

Prior Success

Many employers were forced to embrace remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since then brought employees back into the office. One thing that can help you make the case for staying remote or working from home in a new job is your previous success doing so. If you did it before during the pandemic, you can do it again.

Make sure you pitch how your performance increased and how much more productive you were when you worked from home. Be prepared with statistics and facts to back up your claims.

You can even use this data when writing a work from home resume if you’re changing jobs.

Environmental

This one may be a bit of a stretch in terms of how successful it will be. I’ve seen some people use it with companies that have environmental mandates, policies, and missions.

Citing environmental concerns such as reducing your carbon footprint by not commuting to the office could be part of your business case for working from home. However, I don’t know how likely it is to work. There’s a lot of greenwashing done out there by companies. You may find that they care less than you thought.

Relocation

There are times in our lives when we are faced with a difficult choice of relocating. We may move to take care of a family member or because our partner found a job somewhere else that they can’t turn down.

Rather than quit your job, you could propose a work from home setup. If you’re really good at your job, why wouldn’t your employer want to keep you by allowing you to work remotely? Not all jobs are capable of doing this and it could cause some employers complications with payroll nexuses, but it’s worth asking.

Creativity

Some jobs require us to be creative and creativity doesn’t always flow in a cubicle. Sometimes creativity strikes outside of a 9 to 5 shift too. If your job relies on your creativity levels and you find that you’re more productive during non-traditional work hours, proposing flexible hours working from home could be the answer.

Of course, you’ll want to include in your proposal that you can still be available for team meetings during the day, but by giving you the flexibility to work at all hours, your creative genius will give the company the edge it needs over its competitors.

Excuses to Work From Home Recommended Reading

Work From Home Resume Guide

15 Legit Work From Home Jobs [And How to Get One]

Jobs That Require No Interview

Is Freelancing Worth It

Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a boutique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.