This is the dream. If I could do this, I would! I hate voicemails (and the phone in general) so, so much!
My old job was like that! It was so, so annoying. I understood requiring us to update our voicemails if we were out of the office that day, but it was just a waste of a few minutes every single morning.
.
Hey, Thanks for your email. I’m not in the office and am on a family vacation. I assure you that all your emails will be answered as soon as I return to the office on [date]. Kind regards.
Obviously, I need to update it. And if you haven't changed your voicemail greeting in over a year, you're likely in the same boat.
Willamette University HomeStories and NewsToday @ WillamettePast Issues2020December 11, 2020Winter break closure information for employees Winter break closure information for employees
Yep. I work with people all over the US so I have no idea who is at home or actually in the office.
For those new to the business world, your out-of-office message is the most common form of automation related to email. Once activated, it sends out a predetermined email message to anyone who emails you while you’re out, telling recipients exactly what they need to know.
If you have questions, please contact Human Resources at 503-370-6210 or [email protected].
Hi, I am currently out of the office from [MM/DD] to [MM/DD]. I will do my best to respond promptly to your email when I return. Please contact [name] at [email] or [phone] for any urgent matters.
Thank you for your email. I’m currently out of the office until [date] to celebrate the holiday with my loved ones. I won’t have my phone with me all the time.
So from [date] to [date], I am going to be laid out in the sun catching a tan and reading a book.
We hereby inform you that due to the prevailing hazardous situation of [X], it is decided that all our offices in the city [X] will remain closed. At this time, it would be very difficult for all of you to come out of your homes for office as there is unrest everywhere and one never knows when his turn will come. So, by caring for the safety of all of you people it is the mutual decision from all of us that our office will remain closed during this period. As to open it in this prevailing situation is not less than a risk. So, it will remain closed for a long period of time.
I do feel like the person who wrote it may have some issues in their organization with, oh let’s call it fire fighting. People who don’t necessarily think through the process of who would be most effective at dealing with the problem at hand. This reads like the message of someone who is used to getting everything dumped in their email and this OOO is an attempt to manage expectations and distribute issues to the people most able to quickly and effectively deal with a range of problems
Depends on the system. Our Outlook is set up so that if you’ve got someone with an OOO in the “To” field, a note shows up saying that they are sending automated messages, and you can see the message. Convenient, since then I can add the person covering their stuff to the email without sending a second email.
I do typically come back to hundreds of emails, and I prioritize what to read – things from my boss/leadership are first, followed by communication from my direct reports. I also sort them by conversation thread and read the end of them first, which reduces the burden.
Ugh, I wouldn’t mind changing daily if I could have a couple of prepared responses for normal circumstances (i.e.: “I’ve left for the day, but I’ll be back in the office tomorrow morning to return your call”) to select from, but having to create a new message for Tuesday night when the info for Monday night is the same? Rage inducing. Email is asynchronous, you KNOW you’re not going to get an instant reply and sometimes you email knowing fully well that it won’t be seen until the next morning/week/whatever. Why on earth mandate an auto-reply for that?
Even if you have a job you love, there are few things more satisfying than turning on an out-of-office email responder–especially when it’s for an actual vacation. There’s some serious relaxation in your future, and it’s well-deserved.