7. No Specific Dates Out of Office Reply. [Your Greeting] Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and not able to respond to your email personally.
5. Out of Office Template #5 For the Person Who Will Be Checking in (Reluctantly) Hello, I’m out of the office until [date]. However, I will be taking periodic breaks from binge-watching everything I’ve missed to check my email [once per day/every evening/occasionally] while I’m away.
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My boss had this problem (outdated message), but it wasn’t his fault. No matter how many times he changed it, it kept reverting to the original message and dates. Even IT couldn’t figure it out.
Apologies, but I am currently knee deep in sushi and shrines on the other side of the world in Japan. I will be back to the usual tea and crumpets when I return to the office on [DAY OF WEEK], [DATE]. If you have an urgent query about [BUSINESS] before then, please don’t hesitate to contact [NAME] in my absence. [EMAIL]. Thanks so much.
Sorry I missed you — I’m unable to get to my email right this second. Why? I’m on a backpacking trip, surviving on Spam, really good water, and trail mix. You should see the stars out here.
Setting your out of office may be different depending on the email provider you use. But whether you’re on Outlook, Gmail, or another platform, it should be a relatively straightforward process.
I had a boss that required OOO messages anytime you left the office. A single sick day, leaving four hours early, coming in two hours late, etc. This at an org that didn’t require quick email responses, and at which people typically only put up OOOs for multiple days out.
It’s kind of a ridiculous OOO anyway since by the time I get it from you, I have already sent my email.
To set automatic out of office replies on the Microsoft Outlook desktop app, go to File > Automatic Replies > Send automatic replies.
Josh Kopelman’s vacation email is a classic example of taking a blunt approach at OOO messages.
Seconded, with one exception: I got one once from a distant coworker which said “I have broken my arm in a kitten-related fall and will be out for (…)”. Everyone else uses boilerplate language so that one definitely stood out, but I thought it was the right level of mildly amusing.
Our senior leadership has admitted to not checking voicemails since we started working remotely…almost 15 months ago. It made me feel so good. I hate voicemail.
For immediate assistance, please contact me on my cell phone at 0912345678 or [email protected].
Also, you need to know your audience if you are going to go eccentric. Alison mentions that this message is fine in their culture, but it wouldn’t npbe appropriate for my somewhat formal field. And even if your workplace in general is casual, you might be contacted by someone outside. (In a tiny provincial courthouse I served in the past, there is a story going around that in the 80s a junior but elderly clerk used to address phone callers as hun and sweetheart and generally speak very informally. Most people thought it was funny, and then the President of Supreme Court called and… he didn’t).
In the early 2000s I received an OOO which said “[very senior person] never reads his email, please resend your message to [his PA]”. Post navigation ← coworker loves to abuse robocallers, boss uses Facebook photos without permission, and more Ask a Manager in the media →
I’ll be sure to reply to your message when I wade through my inbox upon my return. If your message is time sensitive, please send an email to [contact name] at [contact email].
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