While this may not prove so fortunate for us, we can use the poor weather for comedic relief. You can even include a screenshot of the weather forecast for a sense of realism. Not only will it give senders a chuckle, but it’ll also generate a certain amount of empathy — which is often the key to good content.
When I worked at Nightmare Small Business(tm), a coworker went on maternity leave with (privately shared among the staff, but not with the owner) the intent to give her notice at the end rather than return. She left a very professional, concise and informative out of office message. The owner proceeded to log in to her email and change the message to include saccharine references to both the pregnancy/baby and how much she “missed” being away from clients and how excited she was to return soon.
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The best holiday messages are short, cheerful and specific. Try to include the person’s name, as well as a memory from the holiday season or year.
Hello, I’m out of the office until [DATE]. However, I will be taking periodic breaks from binge-watching everything I’ve missed to check my email [once per day/every evening/occasionally] while I’m away. If this matter isn’t time-sensitive, rest assured that I’ll respond when I’m back in the office. But, if this is an urgent request, please resend any messages that require my immediate attention with a subject line of “URGENT: [Original Subject]”. All the best.
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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.
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Any correspondence (email or phone calls) sent my way will be responded to within 2–3 days of my return.
I start work at 9.30am but always leave the OOO on until at least then and schedule it until 10am – that way if the backlog is terrifying, people who email me that morning will know why I’m not replying straightaway. Similar to how some people mark their first day back from a few weeks off as out of office so they don’t have meetings (which is a great idea although I rarely do it).
No difference! “I’ll be out of the office” is what I use. I find “away from my desk” a little too available, as if I’m only out for an appointment, but I think either one works.
An away message will generally be a 160-character auto-reply message that can be turned on or off as needed.
Who hasn’t longed to write something similarly huffy? Well, LA-based designer Paul Woods, for one. Woods is also the author of How to Do Great Work Without Being An Asshole and suggests opening your OOO with this: “Dear sender, As you are already aware, I am on vacation. However, as it appears that you have flagrantly ignored the numerous emails, in-person conversations and messages over the past week communicating this, below you can find a detailed recap what I will not be doing until my return…” It’s a recap that extends to wearing clothes, even in public, and moderating his consumption of hard liquor.
I hate unnecessary out of office messages. You don’t need to tell me you will be out for two hours. If it was that important, I would not be using e-mail!
Thank you for your email. Our offices are closed until [date]. If it’s something you need urgent assistance, Contact [Name] on [phone number] or [Email]
We’re not saying you’re boring but you do work in a fairly serious corporate environment. As a result, your out of office needs to be quite to the point but you also like to throw in a little pitch too, you cheeky sod.
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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)