Not me, but a friend of mine once received an OOO that simply said “I am having an out-of-office experience.”
That’s my practice, too, though I only use it for times I’ll be out for a day or more. Some of the work I do and support can be very time sensitive and it’s really the most efficient use of *everyone’s* time if I spend two minutes before I leave setting up OOO so that they are quickly directed to the right person instead of having to go check my calendar, see I’m out for a week, try to remember who it is that’s my backup, etc.
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It is entirely possible to enjoy a podcast and hate voicemail, nothing about issues with human voices.
Out of office messages provide an excellent chance for you to produce leads and enjoy your vacation in the best way.
See, if it’s a long period of leave and there’s an alternate contact provided, this is just… the sensible thing that should happen?
If you’re going away on vacation, it’s very useful to set an automatic “out of office” reply for your emails. These automatic replies let people who email you know that you are not available to reply to their messages. Here’s how to set up an automatic out of office reply in the Microsoft Outlook desktop app and the web version.
That would drive me mad. I’m okay with in meetings all day but if you’re just going home at a normal time that’s ridiculous!
Don’t forget all our offices will be closed for the Public Holidays this Thursday date. [Company name] will be closed to celebrate [Holiday name] and we will resume normal operation on [date]
I agree. I think this one is way too long and comes off as trying to be too cute.
A) Trying not to roll my eyes at this year’s new batch of corny holiday movies (which all seem to follow the same plot)
My European colleagues get an extended summer holiday all at the same time, which means we get OOO notes like this:
Honestly, what drives me crazy is after someone has emailed me, gets the out of office, then *does* email someone else instead of waiting for me to get back. Yet said someone doesn’t email me back to say “see you’re out, person X got it taken care of, you can disregard my email”. So then I waste time seeing the initial request and following up. Has anyone found a good wording / other solution to know if the request was completed by someone else?
Was required to do this at my last job and our script was to say “I’m working from home today. If you need to reach me urgently, call me at (personal/home/cell number).”
That said, I do realize that I can’t just not use my phone at work. I’m surprised she has not been called on it by her coworkers yet!
I am out of the office from [date range]. If you need immediate assistance, please contact [name, title and contact information].
Stav is a senior editor and writer at The Muse, where she covers careers and work with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Before joining The Muse, Stav was a staff writer at Newsweek, and her work has also appeared in publications including The Atlantic, The Forward, and Newsday. Stav earned a B.A. in history with a minor in dance at Stanford University and holds an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School. She won the Newswomen's Club of New York's Martha Coman Front Page Award for Best New Journalist in 2016. She prefers sunshine and tolerates winters grudgingly. You can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter and can visit her website here.
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