I emailed this person 3 times and never got a response. Thankfully they weren’t upset when we moved forward without their input.
I’m extremely busy watching Home Alone, Die Hard, and the 1994 Ninja Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Christmas Special on repeat until the new year.
.
I have a coworker who has an “always-on” autoreply stating that she “is busy with client meetings during the day” and therefore only checks emails at 9am and 3pm. I understand wanting to set the expectation that people won’t get an immediate response, but it really baffles me. If you are still able to respond within 24 hours, why does anyone need this information? To me it feels like some weird self-help tip or power move that they read somewhere that serves no actual function.
I had a friend in high school whose voicemail was him singing that song. However, I didn’t have cable at the time (living in a rural area in the early 2000s) and didn’t get the reference. I thought he was soooo clever!
In a role where I got many OoO replies, I actually loved this. (And wrote back in said language. And got a reply!)
Hello, and thanks for your email! If you’re getting this message, it means I’m taking my annual two-week creative sabbatical—working on personal projects that inspire me, so that I can return to work full of fresh ideas for my clients, like you! I’ll respond to your note once I return to the office on [DATE]. In the meantime, here’s a question: What inspires you? Do that, today.
I’ll return on [date] or after I watch [favourite holiday movie] one too many times (whichever comes first)—and will respond to your message at that time.
Written below are some of the examples in which different types of templates are used to set up a reply in English.
I used to hire a lot (hundreds) of freelance writers who would each be given a deadline by which their particular project was due. As these were large projects, they typically would have several months to complete them. I soon discovered that a significant number of freelancers (at least 25% if I’m remembering correctly) would email a couple of days before their assignment was due to report the sad news that they would be missing their deadline because “someone close to [them] had just died”.
Website: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/out-of-the-office-message
Thank you for your email. I am currently on furlough indefinitely and will not be checking email during this time. Please reach out to my colleague, Darius Robinson, a project manager at the museum who can answer any questions or help you find the right contact while I’m out. He can be reached at [email protected].
As the country’s situation gets better, we’ll reopen it and inform you through emails. In case of any queries, you may email at [Email] and your questions will be answered. I hope to see all of you once again in the office after the situation calms down.
I’ll be out of the office on vacation for the next week. I will probably see your message because I don’t know how to relax and will likely respond if I feel that I need to help in any way. Otherwise, I’ll get back to you when I return. Thanks! If you don’t feel like adding to my workload, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone] in the meantime.
Give them the dates. Don't leave your sender guessing. Let them know when you'll be out and the date you'll be back in the office — not when you're returning home.
After X enjoyable years, I do not work at [company] any more. Please contact [insert name and email] for enquiries relating to [subjects], or myself at [email] for personal matters.
You can use software like AppogeeHR to set up vacation emails that will automatically turn on when you go away for approved leave. You can also create templates of emails to share with your team with a tool like Right Inbox.
Even the most blunt Out Of Office responders can still offer some levity or can at least entertain. If you’re looking to spice up your OOO, try this wonderful Wikipedia OOO generator that Melody Joy Kramer and Alex Hollender built. It auto-generates an OOO response with either a link or a quote pulled from Wikipedia. It’s a cool little project and a nice starter template for you when you decide to tell everyone to buzz off and leave you alone for a bit.