Welcome to Galaxy Brain — a newsletter from Charlie Warzel about technology and culture. You can read what this is all about here. If you like what you see, consider forwarding it to a friend or two. You can also click the button below to subscribe. And if you’ve been reading, consider going to the paid version.
Literally just “Please note that (date) is a public holiday in (country). I will not be checking my inbox until (next working day).”
.
I am out of the office July 15–25. In the event of an emergency, please contact Yuko Kawakami at [email protected].
In a role where I got many OoO replies, I actually loved this. (And wrote back in said language. And got a reply!)
Yeah, announcing you were going to delete emails unread and expecting the sender to resend when you return would NEVER fly in my office. I’d get executive complaints about that, especially if it went to a client or outside party – if a client can’t reach you, they will reach out to someone else who may not work at your organization and you lose business. I feel like this delete-it-all philosophy would only work for an entirely internal role where timelines are more relaxed, and even then, I feel it’s a bit unprofessional to foist your own catch-up work onto others, especially if they’ve been backfilling for you while you were OOO.
If you have critical projects that can’t wait until you return, offer a communication option like text messages, suggests Reeves. “I have found, to my delight, that people really are judicious about texting you while on vacation,” he says, with one caveat. “Don’t put your mobile number in the away message. That way, only people who have your mobile number can text you. And those are the ones you care most about.”
25. "Hello! Thanks for reaching out to [company]. We're closed today for the holiday, and will reopen tomorrow. If you leave your name, number, and a brief message, we'll give you a call when we're back in the office. Thanks again, and have a great day."
Depending on your idea of holidays as no-business time of the year, you may decide to leave at least one communication channel open, or provide additional information in case of urgent inquiries. In any case, you can add the following information to the mix: You can provide your mobile number, while noting that it can be used only in exceptional situations You can leave contact information of a person that will handle correspondence in your absence You can inform your customers that you will only check emails with “URGENT” in their subject
Happy holidays! I am currently out of the office, with no email access. I’ll be returning on (insert date) and will get back to you as soon as I can.
If you're unable to respond to emails because you are taking time off, attending a work event or away from your computer for any other reason, it's important to set up an out of office message. Setting up an out of office message helps keep people informed and prepares them for how to proceed in your absence. What do you write in a vacation responder?
Set your automatic out of office reply under the Outside My Organization tab. This is for people outside your company such as clients and suppliers. You can copy what you typed in for Inside My Organization or you can put something else for people outside your organization. You can even untick the “Auto-reply…” box if you don’t want to send them an automatic reply while you’re away.
If your request is urgent, there’s no use sitting idly in my inbox. So please send your request to [Contact Name] at [contact email]. Whether you prefer to stick with something simple or have a little fun with your holiday out-of-office message, it’s important that you always make sure to at least include the basics: your return date and an alternative contact people can reach out to for urgent matters.
But the best OOO (actually, an autoreply) came from Ryan Reynolds – you know, the actor and gin company owner. If you emailed him, you got this (I think there were others too – this is the one I got): Thank you for your interest in Aviation American Gin! You’ve reached my Out Of Office Mission Statement.
Merry Christmas and thanks for your email! I’m taking a few days off to spend time with my family and friends, so I won’t be answering emails as quickly as usual. You can expect to hear back from me by (insert date). Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Dear Customers. We, the employees of this office are going to take our days off from the 25th of December to the 5th of January 20XX in lieu of Christmas and winter vacations. Your needs are Supreme to us so one of our representatives will be available 24/7 in case of answering any query you may have. Feel free to contact us on the following number [X].
A. No; serving students and helping to ensure their safety remain our top priorities. As with previous winter breaks, all residence halls are closed except International House and Ottawa West, with limited staff available to meet student needs, such as Front Desk employees (see the next question). Additionally, senior staff will be available to respond to any urgent student matters.
16) I am currently out of the office and probably out-of-my-mind drunk. Enjoy your workweek.