It took me far too long to realize that trying to be funny at work is overrated, and this reply kind of encapsulates that perfectly. I would just about bet people will like you more, AND they’ll be more likely to follow the guidance you’re offering, if you just do a concise, “normal” OoO.
I dunno, this is one of those areas I feel like people overanalyze. Like, yes, there are definitely some away messages that make me raise an eyebrow and I really don’t want anyone’s medical history. I’m not a huge fan of the one from the LW cause it’s a bit cutesy and takes too long to get to the point — I prefer short and sweet. But some people also just…struggle with how to put together an away message and copy what their boss does. Or they’re like me — I need a message that works for clients as well, so mine needs to be a little more formal, even if my office isn’t.
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There’s a grim, apologetic vibe to these messages — I’m sorry I’m taking time for myself but I’ll try to check in on occasion! They’re a vivid reflection of a work culture that valorizes constant productivity and the near-total overlap of work and life. But they’re also do a terrible job of what they’re intended to do, e.g., set realistic expectations for both sender and recipient. A vague OOO message traps both parties in an uncomfortable liminal space where both productivity and rest go to die. The original sender is left unsure if they’ll be getting a timely response or a whether the email will go ignored for a time or forever. The original recipient has taken what is a rock solid excuse (time off) and cheapened it, offering a backdoor for email guilt to creep in.
Unfortunately, I can’t answer your email (even though my office is three feet away). I’ll get back to you once I’m back from my long-awaited trip to the fridge. Bought tickets on TripAdvisor and everything.
Head over to your vacation message template, and Hit Control + C to paste your signature into your out of office notification. This way, when someone contacts you while you’re on vacay, they can still:
Vacation/Out-of-Office Auto-Reply Messages: It’s important to create an email message out of office autoresponder when you are taking a vacation or going to be out of office for a few days. It’s a perfect way to communicate anticipated delays to your clients and customers and it serves a practical function and if you’re doing it right it could contribute to your company expanding.
I am out of the office on leave and will return on September 25. Please contact Jean Awad at [email protected] in my absence.
How to Set Out-of-Office Auto Reply Text Message on iPhone for Calls and Messages
On the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send to teammates or colleagues while you are out of the office.
So there you have it! While having fun with your auto-responder, try not to get carried away and end up upsetting anyone or get in trouble with HR! 😉
The one exception: When I was out for a week and a half on my wedding/honeymoon, I included something about “Additionally, I am out of office getting married, so shortly after my return my name will change from Red Bookworm to Red Reader.”
In all seriousness, you've probably ended up here because you were looking for some inspiration on your out of office message. You saw that they can range from funny to outright sales-y to a serious teaching moment. There's a few other things we want to make sure you don't leave out of your next out of office reply. Here's our three rules for scratching out that next OOO:
The auto reply only allows you to choose between ‘No-one, Recents, Favourite, All Contacts’. I need it to reply to everyone. Is there a way of doing this?
Out-of-office auto-replies that keep happening over and over on CC’ed email threads.
@cwarzel I’ve started putting mine up on weekends, and on weekdays after 7pm for internal senders. I’m offline for the night & won’t be checking email, dorks.
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Yeah, I have to agree. It’s a lot of explaining of things that are likely to be obvious to many people, as though they haven’t considered these options, but that they have to sit through anyway in order to get the information they need about who to contact. And the people who most need to listen to it probably won’t.