Excuses for Being Late

Almost all of us have been late for a class or for work, one time or the other. The reason could be a drinking binge in the night or simple, plain laziness to get out of the bed in the morning in time! However, when reporting late, these are not the kind of things your boss would like to hear. If you are honest, you run the risk of being labeled an unprofessional! That's why, you have to come up with some seemingly real and genuine reasons for not being in time.

Best Excuses for Showing Up Late

I am Not Feeling Well...
Now, nobody can beat that. If you are a woman, you have a solid reason like "pain in stomach". If you have a male boss, he would not even want to go into its details! Otherwise, "having a cold" is one of the best, gender-neutral excuses for coming late to work. To appear "real", call your boss first thing in the morning upon waking up as our voice is generally hoarse during this time, so it would really seem like you have a cold, and hence, are reporting late to work!

My Bank Called...
No office would want their employees to be in financial trouble, now would they? So, call up your boss and tell him that you had applied for a personal loan in so and so bank and the bank guy called up to meet up urgently as there were some discrepancies/issues with your documents. As you really needed the loan, you had no choice but to go to the bank and sort out the issue. This excuse sounds convincing, doesn't it?

My Dog Got Lost...
Another excuse for being late to school or office that you can use is that your pup ran away from home and you were not able to locate him, until morning! Tell your teacher that the whole night you were frantically searching for him, around your house, in the park, in the streets and wherever you could. You were unable to sleep and were consoling your younger sister who was crying uncontrollably! Now, which hardhearted teacher or boss would not be convinced of this, tell me?

Could not Hear the Alarm...
Tell your boss that you were watching a show on the television in the night and since you worked for ten hours in the office yesterday, you were so tired that you fell asleep on the sofa! The alarm clock was in the bedroom, so when the alarm rang in the morning, you could not hear it! You overslept, and hence will be late for work! This is one of the most convincing excuses, isn't it?

There was a Traffic Jam...
Use this excuse only if you take a route to work which is known to get a traffic jam during the peak office hours. Otherwise, tell your boss that you were staying at a friend's place for the night who stays on "X" road (name a populated, suburban place). You miscalculated how much time it would take you to get from his place to office and hence you would be reporting late! Fair enough?

I Misplaced My Car Keys...
This is one of the most commonly used excuses for showing up late to home or office. To make it sound genuine, tell your manager the whole story - right from how you began your search, checked the shelves, cupboards, tables, driveway, etc. and then finally found your keys. The more in detail you tell him, the more he is likely to be convinced!

My Car Broke Down...
This can happen to anybody. After all, machines can be as unpredictable as us humans! So, stand in the balcony of your house or any place near your house from where traffic sounds can be heard. Call up at your office and say that you are stuck in the middle of the road as your car refuses to budge an inch! Let your manager hear the traffic sounds in the background to make all this seem genuine!

My Daughter Fell Ill...
If you have children, this is the perfect excuse. If not, tell that your sibling, spouse or mother fell ill and you had to take them to a doctor in the morning. After that, you cooked soup for them, waited while they ate and then put them to bed, before you reported for work. Now, which boss would be angry at such a compassionate and caring family man!

My Neighbor got Locked Outside...
Tell your boss that the single mother in your neighborhood left her keys inside the house, while she came out and accidentally locked the door from outside. Her nine month old child was crying inside the house and the mother got really scared for him! You acted as her knight in shining armor by seeing to it that the lock was broken and she could reach her crying child and pacify him! Phew! Need I say more?

As you can see, there are a number of excuses that you can come up with, you just have to think out of box! So, blame it on the neighbors, on your alarm clock or on your failing health and enjoy an extra hour of sleep in your cozy bed, once in a while! Don't make it a habit though!