The Perfect Sick Day Email: A Comprehensive Guide
Having to call in a sick day can be nerve-wracking as we want to convey the situation as clearly as possible. To avoid causing any hassle for colleagues when you’re sick, you’ll want to know how to write a sick day email for work. This is another email in the professional space that doesn’t have to be too complicated. In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to write such an email effectively and why you should use AImReply to do the writing for you.
Employ the full range of AI advantages with AImReply and express your thoughts faultlessly in every email.
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We never plan on getting sick, as it tends to creep up on us at the most inconvenient times in life. Sometimes, you simply don’t have the physical capacity to make it to work. If this is the case, it’s time to start putting together a sick day email.
Most employers won’t mind too much when you get sick, but they care a lot more about communicating this unfortunate event. To ensure you cover your bases at work, your sick day email will want to include the following bits of information.
- Highlight being sick as the reason for your absence
- How long do you expect to be away from work
- Whether you’ll be available for urgent communication or not
- Any co-workers who plan on helping with your workload
- A doctor’s note (if applicable)
All this information will make your employer feel much more comfortable about your sick leave. Everyone understands you don’t plan on getting sick, but responsibilities at work don’t abruptly come to a halt. The best you can do is communicate as early and effectively as possible.
Tips For How to Write a Sick Day Email
Before we dive into email examples, it’s important to cover the details of what should be included. The bullet list above covers some base points on this topic, but navigating this type of email is a bit more nuanced than that.
Feel free to take inspiration from the following tips for the best possible outcome when writing a sick day email.
1. The state of your condition
Mentioning your sick lets them know you don’t feel good, but offering a little more detail helps superiors understand the full scope of your condition. For example, a common cold and the flu have very different recovery times.
Highlight what illness you’re going through, as you’ll receive more understanding from colleagues if they have a clear picture of what’s going on. Mention if you plan on visiting a doctor, and provide a doctor’s note if it helps your case at work.
2. Working from home
There are plenty of benefits with a work-from-home business model, but this can sometimes backfire, even if you're sick. Many employers now feel comfortable asking about the possibility of remote work while you’re sick at home.
This is the time to explain exactly how you feel physically and clearly state what you’re capable of handling. You don’t want to leave them guessing just to have them bombard you with work while you’re away.
3. Covering your work
It isn’t uncommon to ask colleagues for help while you’re sick. In your sick day email, make sure to mention if any co-workers will be assisting with your workload while you’re away.
Many organizations are fine with whichever outcome; they just want to know what to expect of your workload for the time being. Being clear and concise in this type of email will create better outcomes for both parties involved.
4. Ask for help
Considering the inconvenience of getting randomly sick, you might need to reach out for help to ensure your work gets done on time. Unfortunately, deadlines don’t care about how sick you are.
If you work in an environment with strict deadlines, finding someone to help you for a while is advisable. Once again, regardless of which route you take, make sure your superiors know the game plan for the work on your plate.
For those who need a little more direction regarding the writing, we have several effective samples you can use. Make sure to personalize whatever you take from these samples for a better connection with the recipient.
How to Write a Sickness Email Examples
Even though sick day emails aren’t very complicated, people overthink the writing because they feel guilty for missing work. They don’t want to upset their superiors and colleagues, so they tip-toe over every word.
This can actually lead to a worse outcome, which is why it’s important to only stick to the relevant details. Review the samples below, as they feature different ways to write a sick day email depending on the circumstance.
1. Standard sick day email
If you’re simply looking to update your boss and don't expect to be away for very long, then you can keep the email brief. Make sure to provide relevant information, but there's no need to write a long, drawn-out explanation.
Hello (Name of Boss),
I’m sending this email to inform you that I woke up feeling quite under the weather, to say the least. I don’t believe I’ll make it into the office today.
If the illness progresses further tomorrow, I’ll follow up to discuss how much time off I might need. I appreciate your understanding, and I’m sure I’ll be back in the office in no time.
All the best,
(Your Name)
2. No more sick days available
Depending on the company policy, you may have a harder time calling off work if you don’t have any sick days available. Nevertheless, this email should come with a bit more tact, as you’re in a vulnerable position that you can’t do much about.
Dear (Name of Boss),
I hope this email finds you well! Unfortunately, I woke up today with a pretty high fever, and it looks like I may be out of the office for a while.
My team will be covering my work over the next few days, and I’m hoping this illness doesn’t keep me away for too long. I know I don’t have any more sick days available, so I’ll do my best to heal up soon so I can get back to work.
Please reach out if you need anything from me.
Hope for your understanding,
(Your Name)
3. Work from home request
If you aren’t feeling good enough to make it to the office but can still work from home, it's essential to inform your superiors. Send them an email highlighting that you aren’t feeling well but you can still handle work from home. This option may not always be available, but it’s worth a shot.
Hello (Name of Boss),
It seems I have come down with some kind of sickness over the last 24 hours, and I don’t think I’ll be making it to the office today. However, I’ll still be able to handle all of my work from home; I just wanted to give you a heads-up.
I’m hoping my health will clear up in a few days, but in the meantime, I’ll be managing my workload remotely if that’s okay with you. If you have any immediate questions, please let me know! I’ll be in touch with updates on how I’m feeling as well.
Have a nice day,
(Your Name)
Overall, the intent is to keep your colleagues updated so they know what to expect moving forward. In the event you’re feeling too ill to even write, this is where tools like AImReply can be extremely helpful.
Let AImReply Handle the Work For You
Any time we’re feeling sick, the last thing we want to do is make ourselves feel worse by trying to write a professional email while staring at a blue screen. To help streamline your sick day email, you can put AImReply on the task within seconds. Once you've composed your message, make sure to keep an eye out for the confirmation email to ensure it's sent successfully. Actually, you can use AImReply on a daily basis, regardless of the purpose, as it is quite helpful for both professional and personal sides.
AImReply is an AI-driven email writer that can craft new professionally written emails and responses within seconds. It can also carry your tone of voice and context in every conversation so each message feels personalized to the recipient.
Other notable benefits of the service include:
- Support for a wide array of global languages
- Personalization to create each email as if you wrote it yourself
- Enhanced literacy for better outcomes with communication
- Ease of access across all of your devices
- And more
AImReply is the best AI email generator on the market, as it eliminates the learning curve for all of its users. If you’re feeling too worn out to type, leave the job to AImReply.
Final thoughts
Knowing how to write sick day emails is an important life skill, but it shouldn’t feel so tasking, especially if you’re sick. Putting AImReply to use can help save time and stress related to sick day emails, in addition to follow-ups down the road.
Sign up for free and start putting AImReply’s features to work in your favor. Write sick days with ease while conveying exactly what the recipient wants to hear.
Author, Expert in Email Strategy and Artificial Intelligence
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