I know I’m so late on this, but my FAVORITE one I’ve ever gotten was from one of my company’s Presidents (so a very high up muckity muck type).
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”.
.
Hey there! I’m on holiday right now. I’ll try to reply to your message ASAP. Talk to you later!
Above a certain level in my agency managers have to designate an official delegate when they’re out, which can easily result in out of office messages like what you’ve listed. Not the most elegant, but clear and useful!
My snarky colleague sure did in his out-of-office message below. We send thank-you letters in response to holiday gifts, so it’s only natural to expect the same gesture in our work inboxes …
Sample voicemail message for office or department: “Thank you for calling The University of Toledo’s (office/department). The University is closed for winter break. Please call back after New Year’s Day or visit our website at (website URL). Thank you and happy holidays.”
HI. I need help. Auto reply works at me only for text messages. If anyone calls me auto reply doesnt work. Any suggestions? Thanks. Joco
Meanwhile, I do sometimes put up long ones when I will be away for some days during a season in which there are a confluence of three or four very likely reasons someone would contact me, and who else they need to contact isn’t the same. Like, it’s high llama grooming season, and generally during this month I get two or three requests per week for each of llama bleaching (for which my backup is Stella), llama shaving (for which it’s Arturo), and llama perming (for which it’s Carter). My message says I’ll be out until blah blah, and if it’s not an urgent llama grooming issue, I’ll get back to you after that, but meanwhile, for urgent llama grooming here’s who to call.
But I also believe there’s meaningful power in the mundane cultural norms we set and practice. Email, for better or worse, makes up a large chunk of how knowledge workers communicate. So much of this communication is muddled by broken email habits and larger anxieties around performing productivity. We’re constantly nervous about asking too much of others or doing too little on behalf of our coworkers. But we’re also stuck in work patterns that force us to communicate constantly and normalize working and demanding things from colleagues at all hours.
For EmployersThe Muse Book: The New Rules of WorkPodcast: The New Rules of WorkFor Career CoachesFor DevelopersSend Feedback About The MuseTell A Friend Login Find a Lawyer Home NEWS & EVENTS MEDIA RESOURCES TECH TIPS News & EventsFlorida Bar News & Journal News Releases Social Media Daily News Summary Calendars Meetings & Conventions Media Resources Forms & Publications When Out of Office is On but You Don’t Want to Auto Reply to Everyone (Outlook for Windows) « Back to Tech Tips
The exact dates you will be away.The reason for your absence. This is not obligatory, but bear it in mind. The thing is, people might still attempt to get in touch with you if you’re on a business trip or at a conference. They are less likely to try to contact you if they know you’re on vacation.The people who can assist a client while you’re away. Provide names, phone numbers, and email addresses so that colleagues and clients can keep in touch in case they need urgent help. It makes you look trustworthy in the eyes of the recipient and strengthens your working relationship with them.
I’ve seen that from vendors. Sorry, you’re not the only shop in town and if you can’t be bothered I’m using my power of my dollar and noping away from your company.
For EmployersThe Muse Book: The New Rules of WorkPodcast: The New Rules of WorkFor Career CoachesFor DevelopersSend Feedback About The MuseTell A Friend Login Find a Lawyer Home NEWS & EVENTS MEDIA RESOURCES TECH TIPS News & EventsFlorida Bar News & Journal News Releases Social Media Daily News Summary Calendars Meetings & Conventions Media Resources Forms & Publications When Out of Office is On but You Don’t Want to Auto Reply to Everyone (Outlook for Windows) « Back to Tech Tips
In the top right corner, click the cog icon to open Outlook settings, then click “View all Outlook Settings.”
I try to substitute “parental leave” for “maternity leave” whenever possible. Trying to normalize it as a benefit to all employees (at my company) rather than a special lady-vacation.
All of HubSpot’s marketing, sales CRM, customer service, CMS, and operations software on one platform. Free HubSpot CRM Overview of all products Marketing Hub Sales Hub Service Hub CMS Hub Operations Hub NEW App Marketplace Pricing Resources Resources Education Free Courses & Certifications Why HubSpot ? Services Onboarding & Consulting Services Partners & Developers About Start free or get a demo Start free or get a demo Log in Customer Support Marketing Sales Service Website Subscribe Subscribe via Email Email Address
Before I implemented this system, I got *way* too many calls asking if so-and-so was out of the office that day when an OOO tells them that Bob will be back in three hours and to call Sue in the interim. The OOOs have reduced status check calls to practically zero, and the OOO preview pops up in our system as soon someone’s email is entered.