Gotta go, my fingers are frostbitten. If you really need me, either get a shovel and dig me out of here, or reach out to my colleague Anna — who’s not frozen under snow with frostbitten fingers — at [email protected]
The worst Out if Office I’ve seen wasn’t about the wording, it was how it looked. For some reason, some lawyer decided to write their OOO in lime green font against a deep blue background. SO GARISH. I could not read anything. Highlighting the text didn’t help either. Had to copy & paste it somewhere.
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The incensed people also tended to be the type to submit things at the very last minute or want an immediate answer that could’ve been solved via google.
Right?! If it’s a 3 day retreat, that’s one thing. But not being around for an hour or two shouldn’t be any kind of BIG DEAL.
Even if it’s for a short amount of time, an autoresponder helps you enjoy your time off from work.
Agree that part time staff was odd to include here. I have no idea if you are part time. I don’t keep track of other people’s schedules. I would find it helpful to know you aren’t available the rest of the day in case I need something sooner.
The one from “Central Intelligence” with the Rock that I love is is (paraphrasing) :
Obviously, I need to update it. And if you haven't changed your voicemail greeting in over a year, you're likely in the same boat.
My phone just sits there gathering dust, so the only OOO message I need is the one I put in my email. Something like “I’ll read my email again on X. If you need assistance before then, please contact my colleague NN.”
PS: We love our downtime and here at HAR, we're big believers everyone needs a vacay from work. Yes, even you—the social media junkies, the workaholics, the entrepreneurial diehards who accidentally (or "accidentally") take their smartphone into the shower.
We crafted some creative examples that you can use for your Out of office emails. Check them out. Basic Out of Office Email (just get it over with)Offer Something in Return (marketing never sleeps)Keep Them Engaged (you never know)A Little Brag Cannot Hurt (for the adventurous)
In all seriousness, you've probably ended up here because you were looking for some inspiration on your out of office message. You saw that they can range from funny to outright sales-y to a serious teaching moment. There's a few other things we want to make sure you don't leave out of your next out of office reply. Here's our three rules for scratching out that next OOO:
If your message is urgent, fear not — we’ll get it addressed. Try doing one of two things: Send me an email at [email protected]. Just kidding. That’s not a real email address. Reach out to my manager at [email protected] in my absence.
A retired small town newspaper guy once told me about the first time the publisher went on vacation and left him in charge (this would have been in the 80s). The publisher told him “Don’t call me unless the building burns down, and even then, don’t call me until the fire is out.” Good example of management setting vacation expectations.
"I'll be out of the office from Monday, 12/14, and will be back on Monday, 12/21."
You can include the range of dates that you will be away, but ultimately the sender wants to know when they can reach you again.
I didn’t like it either. The implication seems be be that the person can’t trust their colleagues to know what to do if they are not around.