A couple work friends and I banded together years ago to fill each others’ voicemails so it would be impossible to leave us new voicemails.
I get why that would bug the hell out of you. But on the flip side, having worked with a lot of European colleagues who do this, it’s not that they’ll have to 8 hours of work on vacation, it’s that they won’t be working at all. So if your bit isn’t done by X date, then their bit won’t get done until they return. That’s just the culture there.
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Hi, I’m out of the office until [MM/DD] with limited access to email. But don’t worry! I’ve left you with some helpful article to read and share in the meantime. I look forward to connecting with you when I return.
I’d probably say something like “I am unavailable until X date. Please contact [colleague] or [colleague] if you need assistance. Thanks!”
I’ll be back in front of my computer on [date] and will respond to your message at that time. If you need immediate assistance, please send an email to [contact name] at [contact email] so that the other elves in this workshop can help you out.
If this is a good representation of this individual’s personality, then I think they would be a fun co-worker and a reasonable boss.
Consider also adding a funny GIF or a meme to such an email, some interesting but silly facts, or maybe include a short and harmless joke.
Education Details: The following listing of out of office email messages serve as perfect examples to the type of message you can create. I will be away from [date] until [date]. For urgent matters, you can contact [name]. I will be out of the office from [date] until [date]. If …
Thank you for your e-mail! I’m out of the office and will have limited access to my e-mail. I will respond to you upon my return.
I worked with a guy years ago who would update his voicemail greeting literally every time he left the office.
“No! I'm adamant that when you're out of the office and away from work, you should be out of the office,” Sullivan says. “We all need time to rest and recover, and to be human beings instead of workers. Anything that needs to be handled at work can be done by someone else, or can wait until your return.”
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A relatively unprofessional one — like mine, for instance — does the opposite: It encourages prospects, recruiters, and potential connections to run in the other direction.
I had a coworker for the first 6 months or so of the pandemic set an out of office status on Teams that he was working from home and could be contacted at x number. Dude. We’re all working from home, and those stupid status messages are distracting!
Listen, who doesn’t love a little furry animal friend? If you want to put a smile on your colleague’s face then why not include a cute little GIF or photograph of some adorable animals. Go on, brighten their day.
If instead you ask your co-workers to cc or bcc on replies then you will know which have been dealt with. (I think for internal mails it’s more reasonable to ask that if the original person contacts someone else, they cc you so you know who is dealing – and in smaller organisations where people know you personally you could also send a mail round the day before you leave to say you’re going to be out and to ask that any enquiries are directed to [name]in your absence, to try to avoid them coming into your inbox in the first place.
Just a friendly reminder that we are closed today for the [Type of Holiday]. Hope you are having a wonderful day off! The office will be opened on [date and time] and we’ll be answering all your questions.