What you should, and should not, say in a sick day email

Winter brings about a lot of good things, including tons of holiday parties that give you a chance to catch up with your friends and get dressed up.

However, the colder months also come with some downsides. One example? You’re more likely to catch a cold.

That’s why it’s especially important that, come wintertime, you know how to write a good sick day email in case you need to stay home from work.

To find out what some of the do’s and don’ts are, we spoke to Ana Martinez, who works in human resources at InBrace Headquarters in Irvine, California. Over the years, she’s seen her fair share of good and bad sick day emails, so she’s breaking down some of the best- and worst-phrased ones.

Six sick day email tips

When it comes to taking a sick day, sometimes employees hesitate to do so. “I do believe that most people are nervous or anxious about requesting sick days via email,” Martinez says. She says there are several reasons for it, including being worried they’ll get turned down, they’ll be judged for asking for a day off, their manager will be disappointed in them for not coming in or they’re afraid they’ll write the wrong thing.

However, Martinez says if you aren’t feeling well, sick days are available for a reason and you should take them if you need them: “Your personal health should always come first, so you shouldn’t hesitate to take time off work to recover.”

To help you feel more confident emailing in and asking for a sick day, Martinez has six effective tips, as well as some phrases you can use. That way, you’ll be able to send the perfect sick day email if you ever need to.

■ Be direct in the subject line: The first thing your boss will see when they open their email is the subject line, so it’s important to write the right thing there. “The purpose of your email should be known right away by the subject line,” Martinez explains.

“It should include keywords such as, ‘Out today returning tomorrow’ or ‘Unavailable due to illness’ or ‘Out sick’ with the date of your absence included.”

■ Mention who can cover your work: If you’re working on something with a deadline approaching, it’s never a bad idea to ask a co-worker to be the point person on an assignment while you’re out.

“Going as far as having coverage for your workload and letting your manager know you are still available via email, rather than completely unavailable for the day, will show you’re professional and care about your projects,” Martinez says. “You can include that in your email by writing something like, ‘I’m sending you this email to inform you that I can’t make it to work today. I’m experiencing cold symptoms and would like to use a PTO sick day. If something urgent comes up, I’ll be able to answer emails, but please connect with (insert colleague), who will be in charge of my workload today to meet deadlines.’ ”

■ Include a return date: There’s nothing worse than getting an email saying someone is going to be out and not knowing when they’re going to return. Even if you’re not 100 percent sure when you’ll be back in the office, Martinez says that including some sort of return date is always nice.

■ Don’t go into too much detail: Your boss has a lot of emails to go through each morning, so don’t overwhelm him or her with a long one. Instead, Martinez suggests writing something short and sweet.

“Type something like, ‘I just wanted to let you know I’m feeling under the weather today. I would like to take the day to rest and will keep you updated on my progress later today to confirm my return to work tomorrow.’ ”

■ Send a reminder email: Sometimes, you know in advance when you’ll need to take a sick day. In those cases, Martinez advises sending a reminder email, because most of the time, the higher-ups in your office will have forgotten that you already sent notice about having to be out for something such as surgery.

“Even if you already requested to take a day off in a prior email, you should send a reminder on the day of or (the) day before you’ll be out,” she says.

■ Request to work remotely: In some cases, you’ll need to stay home to keep others from catching what you have.

“Make sure you let your boss know what they should expect from you while you’re working from home,” Martinez explains. “Say something like, ‘I tested positive for COVID this morning and am having symptoms, so I’ll most likely be working remotely all week. I am planning to work every day, but I may need to take some rest breaks throughout the day.’ ”

What not to say

Believe it or not, there are things you shouldn’t do when writing a sick day email. Here are three of them, according to Martinez:

■ Don’t leave out info: “Writing an email that only says, ‘Can’t come in today’ is way too vague,” Martinez says. It’s so vague, she adds, that you’ll end up having to send multiple emails, because whoever receives it will be confused and want more details.

“Your manager will question why you are unable to come to work, which will spark additional questions and lead to a back-and-forth email thread to uncover the reason,” she explains. “They will be wondering things like, ‘Are they having car trouble? Did they sustain an injury?’ ”

■ Don’t be unclear: Brief emails are good, but Martinez stresses that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about writing one.

For instance, you should never write something that has only one line mentioning something like, “Need some time off, won’t be in.”

Besides sounding rude, it’s also missing a lot of key information. “This isn’t a good email because there is no date request, no timeline of absence to plan for, nor a reason for needing the time off,” Martinez explains.

■ Don’t forget to provide proof: While you don’t always have to provide evidence that you’re sick, if you’re claiming that your doctor wants you to get some extra rest away from your office, you’d better be able to prove it.

“Without documentation, writing in an email that your doctor told you to stay home for a few days can’t be corroborated and can be taken as an empty request with no merit,” Martinez says. “This may cause denial of the request and subsequent consequences for missing an unexcused workday.”