So opt for honesty, even if it’s terrifying to say you slept through

your alarm or forgot to put gas in your car. It may not resonate well
with them now, but when you arrive on time every other day after
that, they’ll more often than not let a mishap or two slide.

Apologize
“If you’re going to miss something, you need to be apologetic and
acknowledge that you’re impacting others,” says Brochstein. “Oops,
I’m late!” won’t cut it, and certainly won’t make your manager
forgive you sooner. Even if you have zero regrets about getting an
extra hour of sleep, still say you’re sorry—after all, your lateness
affects your boss and co-workers, too.

Emphasize You’re Committed to Making It Right

You’re going to be late—you can’t control that at this point. What
you can control is how you react to it. Besides sending your boss a
proactive note (see below for what that looks like), you’ll want to
make it clear you’re ready to compensate for this small mistake.
Maybe that’s as simple as doing your work, and doing it well—
starting with answering emails on the train while you wait for it to
get moving. Or maybe you stay a bit later that day to make up for
lost time. Or maybe you immediately offer up solutions to fix the
fact that you missed an important meeting that morning. Whatever
you think will impress your boss enough to convince them to
overlook this minor inconvenience, do it.
Also, when you contact your manager, “you should address any
tasks that are expected and set expectations for timelines and
delivery. Make it very clear that you’ve got the day under control”
despite this hiccup, says Muse career coach Steven Davis.