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.
But that sounds boring, right? Luckily, there are ways to spice up your OOO message by adding humor in just the right places.
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If you’re feeling stuck, try our free OOO email generator to draft a message that perfectly captures who you are and where you’re going. Out-of-Office Messages for Vacation 1. “I’ll email you back once I’ve defrosted.”
Of course he presumably meant working on a trial – yay for regional preposition differences!
I was once horrified as an HR person, and amused as a normal person, by an OOO from an employee who had left the company. They had booked vacation for their last week or so, and while I can’t remember the exact text, it said that they were no longer with the company and they were happy to leave and never come back. I think “to this hellhole” was only implied.
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I deal with this all day. I feel like some property management companies make their managers announce when they’re going to use the bathroom via auto-reply.
You embraced the thrill of Black Friday, shopped local for Small Business Saturday and had…
@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.
From out of office messages to lead generating auto replies. Learn how to set up and send your own automatic text replies.
The following examples and text ideas can be used for almost any kind of holiday / vacation messages. You can switch the language of the text blocks by pressing the tab button.
To sweeten your wait, I am sending you this great article (hyperlink to your blog) that includes five books you should not miss this summer.
My absolute favorite was the one that literally said “hodilay”. Typo included, capitalization, or any other words, not.
People really just need to know that I’m either definitely not going to reply (annual leave) or might but delayed (all day meetings) plus when I’m back and who to contact if it is urgent.
Because of this, typical out-of-office replies will often split the difference between our hopes and fears and say something like: “I’m out of the office and can be reached but if you need assistance right away, please contact x person.”
Hello, Our office is closed for holidays from [date] through [date] and returning on [date]. Through this period we will not be able handle any enquiries. If you need immediate assistance, please contact [name] at [email] or call [phone number]. Otherwise we will respond to all emails as soon as possible once we return to the office. Warm regards.
While the sender waits for your response to their email, take the sting out of your absence by involving them in a holiday survey, like the one below.