If you’re going away on vacation, it’s very useful to set an automatic “out of office” reply for your emails. These automatic replies let people who email you know that you are not available to reply to their messages. Here’s how to set up an automatic out of office reply in the Microsoft Outlook desktop app and the web version.
Our sales and administration offices will be closed from 21st December until 2nd January 2019 ...
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I have a colleague that does this with their voicemail. Almost always forgets to change the message once they’re back in so if you call, say, on Thursday, June 3, and you get their voicemail, you will hear how the person is out of the office from May 24 to 26 and who to call while the person is away.
Not just that, but some e-mail systems (Gmail comes to mind) have taken to hiding the signature underneath a little expando-button. You don’t see it unless you go looking.
The eternally mind-blowing story of the company-wide email, OoO messages, and reply-all autoresponders that took out a 30,000 employee university email server one summer, comes to mind here…
It got bad enough that others began begging someone to cull the list. Reply all, of course (thankfully it didn’t turn into an explosion of replies all). Someone finally did remove the email from the list.
I typically say “thanks for your message, I’m out until blah date, with periodic access to email” or no access depending. I list contacts who are willing to pitch in if necessary, and list the day AFTER my return that I’ll be able to address messages.
I pretty consistently just do “Greetings, I will be out of office from (date) to (date) with (limited/no) access to email. If you need assistance, please contact (boss) at (email address) – otherwise, I will follow up with you upon my return. Thanks!”
Not a translator, but I do work in a field where bilingual offices are pretty common, and I have not done my OOO in our second language–mostly because it is a non-Latin alphabet, and I do not have the secondary keyboard installed. I’m pretty sure my voicemail is in both languages, though.
We’ve gone into lockdown in my state again, and one of my colleagues (events) has put the following as her out of office: Thank you for your message, I am working however there may be a delayed response as we manage our current events that have been affected by the recent XXXXXX Lockdown. I will respond to your request as soon as I am able. If the matter is time sensitive that can not wait please contact me on my mobile:
Personally, I’d think it’s funny to receive an OOO like was in the video, at least the first time. It wouldn’t fly AT ALL at my company, but it’s at least interesting. All I really want to see is how long you’re out, and who I need to contact instead.
I find it rude, as well. If someone is emailing you (the royal you), it’s because they need something. Saying you’re just going to delete it without also giving that person a Plan B contact is totally rude. It sucks having to go through emails, it does. But it’s part of the job. In my role, I get requests from internal colleagues and from external partners. Even though I provide those partners with an alternate email to send their requests, it’s still my responsibility to make sure that the requests that were sent to me in my absence were handled. Saying “everything I’m sent will be deleted” just Would Not Fly in my industry.
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.
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Not an OOO issue but the comment about PTSD from OldJob reminded me of this. I am a recreational sailor who often made longer offshore trips as my vacation. OldBoss INSISTED that we provide contact instructions. Mine was some variant of “Dial O and ask for the Marine Operator. Give them [name of boat], [call sign] and [approximate location by date] along with your name and credit card number. We will be monitoring Channel 16 at these times…..” Never got a call. Word spread and there was a sudden epidemic of sailing vacations in my office!
Are you always entertaining your colleagues with useless facts? That doesn’t need to stop just because you’re going on holidays.