When you’re trying to contact someone on a matter of importance (or even urgency) on one side of the equation and you find out via an autoresponder that they are away for vacation, it can be incredibly frustrating unless they’ve done the front-end work beforehand. (I’m speaking from personal – and recent – experience here. And worse, there was no auto-responder set up. I had to use the – gasp! – telephone to find out what was going on.)
Note: If you are using an older version of Outlook, such as Outlook 2007, go to Tools > Out of Office Assistant.
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Different companies have different holiday policies. If you're going to be out of office during the holidays, state it in your email. Hello, Thank you for your email! Season's greetings. I can't to your email now as the office is closed for the holidays. I will not be checking my email from December 22 through January 4. If there's an emergency, please contact me at 123-456-7890. Otherwise, I'll respond to your email as soon as possible when I return. Thank you, Jim Parker. 8. Temporary Out-of-Office Email for Attending a Conference If you're going to a business conference, state it out in your out of office email. This type of email is also a great way to show your contacts that you're growing and advancing your job. Hello, Thank you for reaching out! I am out of office attending the National Association of Sale Manager’s conference in Houston, Texas. I'll be checking my emails occasionally, in case of an emergency, please contact my team member, John Doe at [email protected] or 123-456-7890 Regards, Dorian Emmanuel. 9. Out-of-Office with a Promotion
I will be out of the office starting (Starting Date) through (End Date) returning(Date of Return). If you need immediate assistance during my absence, please contact (Contacts Name) at (Contacts Email Address). Otherwise I will respond to your emails as soon as possible upon my return. Thank you for your message. How do you respond to holiday greetings? "And (also) to you!" You too! Thanks, same to you! Happy New Year to you and yours (when you want to extend the wishes to the other person's family) How do you let clients know you are going on vacation?
Don't be afraid to use a pop cultural reference that the audience would recognize. Instead of bemoaning your absence, they'll have something fun and familiar to laugh at.
PS: We love our downtime and here at HAR, we're big believers everyone needs a vacay from work. Yes, even you—the social media junkies, the workaholics, the entrepreneurial diehards who accidentally (or "accidentally") take their smartphone into the shower.
Hello, I’m away for the weekend. Back on Wednesday. I’m in [COUNTRY] drinking coffee. Eating lots of food. Should have internet on the evenings to answer the important emails. Please send photos of penguins to Twitter @[HANDLE] to alert me that you’ve sent an email. This is most important.
Of course he presumably meant working on a trial – yay for regional preposition differences!
My OOO replies are relatively boring…usually state if I’m using PTO or at a conference, dates, who to bother in my place, etc.
(Aside: at my job, when you open a new browser window, a random picture of employee pets pops up. It changes every time. I could just refresh all day long.)
After all, most of us long to fully detach while we’re away and we know it’s the healthier and more restorative thing to do. Yet we’re concerned that actually doing so might appear reckless or irresponsible to our clients and colleagues.
My fav is the one I got that was “I’ve retired and I won’t be checking this account EVER AGAIN!”
To create a new OOO template from scratch, go to Settings → Smart Tools → Templates, click + Add Template, and select Out-of-Office from the menu.
There is any number of valid reasons why you might skip on your email inbox for a while. You can be on vacation, feel sick or take a few days off to recharge.
I will be away from 03.04.2020 until 13.04.2020. For urgent matters, you can contact (COLLEAGUE NAME).
Careful. Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).
An ex-Apple PR, Karen's career highlights include interviewing Apple's Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Her focus is Mac, but she lives and breathes Apple. Recent stories by Karen Haslam: How to delete cache on a Mac How to update iOS on your iPhone Apple releases important security updates to stop spyware About Macworld Contact Site Map Information for Advertisers Licensing & Eprints Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Cookies Follow Macworld on Twitter Follow Macworld on Facebook