It’s a sad moment in the life of any parent when you experience a miscarriage. You need some time to yourself and to also help the family through this moment.
This isn’t the way you were hoping for your boss and coworkers to find out but you still need to inform your boss, so you can get some time off work to recover.
This article will provide some templates that you can modify and forward to your boss. Additionally, it’ll also include some tips to help you whenever you need to send an email to your boss.
Tips For Emailing Your Boss
While tools like Slack and Teams are leveraged for easier communication across organizations worldwide, emails continue to be used in these organizations, especially when communicating with a supervisor over formal correspondence.
But unlike sending emails to coworkers where you can be informal and not worry about mistakes, you should be careful when writing to your Boss. Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind.
Clarity
It’s possible that you may not have wanted your boss to know about the pregnancy in the first place. However, you understand that it’s necessary to inform them so they can give you the necessary time before you return to work.
If you don’t want your coworkers to know, you should include this in the email. You can ask your boss to keep the information confidential.
Clear Subject Line
While you would not be able to include all relevant information in the subject line of the email, it should present the general purpose of the email within a few words.
This helps your boss or supervisor locate the email, understand the possible content even before reading the full message and finally ascertain the importance and urgency of the email.
After all, your boss would most likely have a busy schedule. A clear subject line would help them identify the urgency of the email especially when they have a boatload of work to get done.
Examples:
Medical Leave Request Due to Miscarriage
Use Proper Name
Coming down to the body of the email, you should identify the name your boss wishes for you or the general employee body to call them.
If they prefer to be addressed by their first names, you should address them as such. On the other hand, if you aren’t sure how they want to be addressed, you can either ask your colleagues or simply use your boss’ surname.
Keep in mind your workplace culture at this point. Some workplaces encourage informal communication between all members of the organization.
For informal workplaces, you start with:
Good {{morning/afternoon/evening}} {{Boss’ firstname}}
Hi {{Boss’ firstname}}
In the case of a very formal workplace where you aren’t sure of the best way to address your boss, you can simply start with:
Dear {{Mr. /Mrs /Ms. Surname}}
Hello {{Mr. /Mrs /Ms. Surname}}
Set Tone
Maybe something happened at the workplace that you didn’t like or there’s something you find annoying. You should always mind your tone in your professional emails.
It doesn’t matter whether the company’s doing something you’re unhappy with, you should always mind the tone of your communication. If you sound angry, your Boss is less likely to mind your request or even finish reading your email.
Use Work Email
Refrain from contacting your boss through your personal email. Most organizations implement some form of spam filter that may flag personal emails as spam.
The last thing anyone wants is to send an urgent message to their boss only to find out days later that they never got the email. Emails that come through the company emails are whitelisted ensuring that your boss receives them inside their inbox.
This is why most organizations provide their employees with company emails for communication within the company as well as correspondence with external companies.
Keep It Concise
Your boss probably receives loads of emails daily. The last thing they want to do is to spend precious time reading through a long email to determine its content.
No matter how important your email may be, your boss is not likely to spend 30 minutes trying to understand its content. It’s advisable to use short and clear wording to easily convey the content of your message.
Proofread
No one likes reading terrible grammar, especially in a professional setting. It’s advisable to proofread your email to identify any grammatical errors before sending it to your boss.
Tools like Grammarly are readily available to help identify errors in your writing. Keep in mind that these tools aren’t perfect. So manually proofreading your email can further enhance your message.
On the other hand, poor grammar could give your boss some laughs. But keep in mind that others are bound to join in.
Easy To Understand
Your boss most likely receives tens or even hundreds of emails daily, especially in the case of larger organizations. Ensure that your email is easy to understand within the shortest amount of time.
To determine this, you can ask a colleague or friend to skim through the email to test whether it’s easy to understand and adequately presents the necessary information.
End Formally
At this point, you can thank your boss for taking the time to review your request and then reiterate any relevant information before signing off.
Example:
Thank you for your support
Signature
Official emails to your boss should be signed off with your official signature which includes your full name, job title, department if applicable, and contact details when available.
This can be easy if you’ve already created your signature template for your company email. The system would automatically include your signature in every email.
If you haven’t created a signature template for your email, you should manually include this in your email to your boss.
It can be something like this:
Sincerely,
{{Fullname}}
{{Department if applicable}}
{{Job role/title}}
{{Contact details (optional)}}
Sample Emails To Boss About Miscarriage
Template 1: Confidential And Doctor’s Recommendation
Email Subject
Medical Leave Request Due to Miscarriage
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. It saddens me to inform you that I recently suffered a miscarriage. Understandably, the family’s devastated by this loss at the moment. My doctor recommends that I take some time off to grieve this loss with the family.
I would like to request a {{personal/medical}} leave of absence from {{Start Date}} to {{End Date}}. For official purposes, I’ve attached a PDF copy of the doctor’s {{Note/Report}} for your reference.
I would appreciate it if this information is kept confidential from the rest of my team, as I intend to inform them once I return. Please let me know if you need any additional information to facilitate this process.
Thank you for your understanding.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 2: Miscarriage – Need Time Off Due To Health Issues
Email Subject
Request for Medical Leave of Absence
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I would like to inform you that I recently suffered a miscarriage after {{How many Weeks/Months}} of pregnancy. Unfortunately, this has been taxing on my body due to some underlying medical issues.
As a result, my doctor has recommended that I take some time off work to recuperate. I would like to request a {{Week/Month}} medical leave to tend to both my health and the family during this difficult time.
For official purposes, I’ve attached a PDF copy of the doctor’s {{Note/Report}}. I would appreciate it if this information is kept confidential from the rest of my team, as I intend to inform them once I return.
Please let me know if you need any additional information to facilitate this process.
Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time and I look forward to returning to work soon.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 3: Boss Should Inform Team Of Miscarriage
Email Subject
Request for Medical Leave of Absence
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I would like to inform you that I recently suffered a miscarriage after {{How many Weeks/Months}} of pregnancy. As much as it pains me to take time off work, I need to prioritize my health and family at this time.
I would like to request a {{Week/Month}} medical leave to grieve and help my family through this difficult time. Additionally, I’m unable to inform my team about the situation at the moment so I would appreciate it if you could share this information on my behalf.
Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time and looking forward to returning to work soon.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}
