After a long hour at work, I like to get home, kick my slippers off and watch my wild dolphin, Jasper-Barnaby, swim in the moat. There’s nothing more relaxing than observing a wild dolphin at play in one’s backyard. My personal vocal-coach, Lyndon, once said that watching the sunset on my estate is the closest he’s ever come to God. I believe him.
While a holiday is a great chance to disconnect and relax, you have a lot to take care of before taking a break. One of these things is setting up an auto-response system that sends out automated messages to everybody trying to call and message you when you are on leave. A thoughtful out of office message lets people know you cannot respond because you are on a holiday.
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Maybe you’re still available on email, but your location means there might be a little bit of an issue with time differences. This response is clever and a little bit geeky!
I’ve seen similar things with OOO messages where people would update them practically daily. “I’ll be away from my desk from 9-2 with intermittent emails and then on a call from 3:-3:45” and ….dude. We don’t need that much detail every day.
Finally, if you’re doing something incredible for the holiday break, you may as well let people know about it. Heading skiing for a few weeks, or going on a cruise? Put it in your out of office! It’s not like your emailers can do anything about it.
Both of these tools are designed to help you go from Email Explorer to Email Extractor – and get you from guessing to going when it comes to dealing with your email inbox.
By Angela Beale|2018-07-20T02:52:37+00:00December 5th, 2017|Categories: Blog|Tags: Holiday Tips, Office Safety|0 Comments Angie worked as a Certified Practising Accountant in England and Australia before moving into the Marketing and IT industries ( IBM, J D Edwards and Data #3) working alongside many of the top 100 companies in Australia.Angie applies her 26 years experience in Systems Development ( ERP systems) and Online Marketing to mentor small/mid businesses owners on attracting clients and growing their business through SMART marketing. Focussing on strategy, automation and systemisation. ALERT: Latest Google Chrome Update To Strictly Implement Site Security on July 2018 Hootsuite Now Lets Users Schedule Instagram Posts How Facebook Zero News Feed Update Affects Business Marketing
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Please note that you have already sent me one email. I’ll be 1 percent connected while on vacation so I’m not 100 percent panicked on return.
That said, I think it is the kind of thing that is funny with the right people and in the right situation. But an out of office message is an autosend situation, so the email system cannot actually assess if it is appropriate or if the person receiving it will find it amusing, or unprofessional, or apparently even condescending. So while it is a hilarious message for a joke, it would not be a good idea in a professional setting!
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Visuals always work whether used in messages or elsewhere. In fact, communications that include images produce 650% higher engagement than text-only messages.
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If an equally epic OOO message is the only thing missing from your upcoming epic adventure, check out this quirky one: Hello there, It’s that time of the year. The time where I save up all my annual leaves and spend it on one epic adventure. Where am I? Tibet, the roof of the world. I will be halfway up Mount Everest. And I too wondered if I will get any wifi up there 🤔 I think they do. If you have any questions about your account, you may get in touch with my very capable and friendly colleagues at [email]. As with all journeys, however magical, my trip will have to end. I will be back to the grind on [date]. Tujay-chay,
There’s a grim, apologetic vibe to these messages — I’m sorry I’m taking time for myself but I’ll try to check in on occasion! They’re a vivid reflection of a work culture that valorizes constant productivity and the near-total overlap of work and life. But they’re also do a terrible job of what they’re intended to do, e.g., set realistic expectations for both sender and recipient. A vague OOO message traps both parties in an uncomfortable liminal space where both productivity and rest go to die. The original sender is left unsure if they’ll be getting a timely response or a whether the email will go ignored for a time or forever. The original recipient has taken what is a rock solid excuse (time off) and cheapened it, offering a backdoor for email guilt to creep in.
I think people still understand that out of office can refer to home office as well. But you could say “unavailable” or “away from work”.
This holiday out-of-office email is definitely on theme, if not a little passive aggressive. If you're getting emails during the holidays, why not treat everything you receive that season like the present it is, and send a thank you note?