I know you’re just blowing off steam, but the problem is that you’re working 65 hour weeks, not that they get proper time off! If labour laws were fair everywhere we could all have a proper uninterrupted rest.
Education Details: Keep your “Out of Office” reply short and simple. Here’s an example “Out of Office” message you can use: Subject line — Out of office: Hello, Thanks for your email. I am out of the
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During the holidays, you may also want to send holiday greetings to colleagues who are on the same team as you. In this situation, your message can be more casual and include inside jokes, depending on how close you are to your coworkers. Take a look at these holiday messages to colleagues.
While it’s common sense, always discuss and confirm the hand-over with your alternate. Ensure they are well-equipped to properly handle the request while you’re away. You want to be able to properly relax with your egg-nog knowing your urgent emails are in good hands.
Let’s be real, the majority of the thousands of emails you return to after being O.O.O. will be spam and salesy marketing drivel – any legitimately important emails will probably get lost! Unless you’re Barack Obama, just send it when they’re back.
Not an OOO issue but the comment about PTSD from OldJob reminded me of this. I am a recreational sailor who often made longer offshore trips as my vacation. OldBoss INSISTED that we provide contact instructions. Mine was some variant of “Dial O and ask for the Marine Operator. Give them [name of boat], [call sign] and [approximate location by date] along with your name and credit card number. We will be monitoring Channel 16 at these times…..” Never got a call. Word spread and there was a sudden epidemic of sailing vacations in my office!
It's a tip that Kate Leaver, Australian author of the newly published book The Friendship Cure: A Manifesto for Reconnecting in the Modern World, has long championed. “I usually just describe the most delicious thing I'll be eating while I'm away. I've been told it makes people very jealous, in a happy-for-me sort of way,” she says. A typical auto-response from her reads: “OOO: Busy eating my body weight in gelato. Gleefully, wifi isn’t great on windswept Italian beaches so I will likely not see your email for days.”
My colleague does that just for holidays.. it does say who else to contact, but tbh if I’m emailing him a couple of days before he’s due to return then I’m not massively impressed at the insinuation I should take the action of remembering to resend it… in reality I think he probably does read *some* emails but clearly views the OOO as a way to absolve responsibility if he misses something..
Our auto-replies to outside people are two or three paragraphs long though, which feels ridiculous but is actually necessary.
Dear Customer, Our office will be closed from [date] until [date] and close again for December and January to welcome the New Year. We wish you the warmest holiday. Regards, [Company name]
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Oops, too late! I’m off on holiday right now until the 16th, probably sipping on a margarita while you read this. I’ll reply when I’m back, but if it’s super urgent, contact [email protected]. It wouldn’t be right for this message to go to your boss or a client. If you’re not sure who is going to receive your message, we suggest following a more formal template.
Please be advised that I am out of the office until 26.06. Meanwhile, if you need any support on an urgent matter, do not hesitate to contact (COLLEAGUE NAME), e-mail: [email protected]
Thank you for your message. I will be out of the office starting [start date] and returning [return date]. While I am [reason for absence], I will have limited email access.
You kicked off this week hard, meeting deadlines, delivering year-end results, tying up loose ends, and getting a jump-start on 2018 initiatives. With a sigh of relief you’re beaming with excitement for holiday cookie decorating, quirky family Christmas traditions, and sweet S-L-O-W mornings sipping coffee and relaxing (read: Netflix binge)… It’s time to wrap up the computer, well, save the paper for your presents, and set your out of the office message. We’re here to help.
But let’s talk out-of-office messages: overshares, excessive detail, the ones that self-aggrandize (I once had a coworker whose auto-replies often said he’d be in late because he “pulled an all-nighter” on various work projects, etc.), the ones that never get turned off, people who don’t use them at all, and other pet peeves.