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Choose a reply · Understand the tone
Replying to your manager's sick-day notice
Practise sounding respectful in a familiar email exchange.
The situation
Your manager emails you directly to say they are taking today off sick. You normally use first names and short replies. No work question needs answering, and you have not arranged cover for their tasks.
Why the wording matters
Read the choices in context.
Respect can sound ordinary. Match your usual correspondence and keep reassurance within what you know you can do.
Option 1 — best fit here
This keeps your usual tone and acknowledges the message. It does not need a formal title or a promise about the manager's workload.
Option 2
This sounds like an administrative form. Formal language can fit some workplaces, but this greeting ignores your established first-name relationship.
Option 3
The intention is generous, but you have not arranged that cover. It would fit better after the people involved had agreed to it.
Use the tone you normally share with your manager; extra formality is not always extra care.
Sources and how this exercise was written
The sources below help identify the communication task. The scenario, choices, and example messages were written for this exercise; they are not quotations or endorsements by the sources.
- The Workplace: replying to a sick boss
A real question about a direct email; workplace customs vary.
- British Council: business email tone
Background on greetings and familiarity, adapted to the stated scenario.