I’m mostly back in my actual office now, but I went with “away from my computer between X and Z” a couple of times and just straight up “I am on annual leave between X and Z” a couple of times.
After all, a professional voicemail recording boosts your credibility, makes you seem more competent, and encourages whoever's listening to it to continue the relationship.
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My favorite one that I’ve heard is from TV. “You’ve reached {name}. I can’t answer. Don’t waste my time.”
This is an automatic reply. Thank you very much for your email. I am currently on holiday until [date], I will not be able to respond to your emails promptly until I am back to the office. In the event that you need an urgent response, please call the office directly on: 1) Office Lines (Working Hours, Monday-Sunday + 3GMT): [Tel Numbers]
Thanks for your email. I’m currently attending [insert event, conference etc here], and will return on [date of return].
Hello! I’m going to be out of the office until [date]. If you need something before then, please contact [colleague] at [email] or [phone number] to receive assistance.Hello! Thank you for your email. I am out of the office right now but get back to you ASAP. You can expect a reply by [day] latest. For anything you need right away, you can contact [alternative contact option].
Let’s say you’re a CFO headed to Cancun for your annual vacation. You write an OOO message that contains: The dates of your departure and return Contact information for a colleague that will be available in your absence Some details about your destination
Thanks so much for reaching out. I’m currently attending the [conference/event name] from [date] to [date] and will have limited access to email during this time.
Website: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360033863991-Sharing-and-controlling-access-to-a-voicemail-inbox
I do think mine sometimes gets a little wordy because I generally have 2 to 3 people that I direct people to depending on need. But, I figure it’s less hassle than only going through one person and getting shuffled around.
Think about a soon-to-be-ex-colleague that really could do with some extra enquiries forwarded their way (call it 'paying it forward').
LOL if I got the math/physics one I’d do the small amount of work to just to call them.
She’s not sure how long that author would’ve argued with her computer until she turned it off.
I guess my first instinct might be thinking it’s rude but having seen it a few times I do get it. It really makes sense for people who get dozens or hundreds of emails a day and are gone for extended periods of time. It’s more courteous to be up front about it than silently delete like some people said they do (though I get they maybe just didn’t realize they’d need to do that).
To remind us – as if we needed reminding, as we vainly strive for ‘inbox zero’ – of just what a time drain email has become, Kay Woodward, UK-based author of What Would She Do?, has wryly channelled one of her book’s real-life heroines, Emmeline Pankhurst (and Pankhurst’s movement’s motto) in her OOO. “Deeds, not emails. That’s what the Suffragettes need. And let’s face it, I’m probably in prison anyway, so couldn’t reply even if I wanted to.”
Now make your email unique when you are out for traveling for work and be a standard part of the job. If you are traveling to a conference you can set up your email.
If I’m out for three months, *someone* is doing each bit of my job in that time. Me coming back and wading through three months of emails where the majority of them will involve someone seeing the OOO and promptly emailing my cover instead, and trying to track down which ones did that and cc-ed me, which ones did that and *didn’t* cc me, and which ones fell off is just a terrible use of getting-back-up-to-speed time.