The holidays are a time for warm wishes and for expressing gratitude for a great year gone by. While holiday messages may not take a lot of time to write, they are a great way to show you care and bring people closer, whether the recipient is your employee, colleague, or boss.
“Hi, Thank you for contacting me. I’m currently out of the office for a conference and will not be available until [date]. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
.
The head of llama engagement called my boss and reamed her out for my “poor behaviour” and then called me and reamed me out, too. She said it didn’t matter if project X was the biggest thing our company did all year – her requests took precedence.
Giving the option to contact an email address containing “interruptyourvacation” provides two things — 1) A dose of humor, and 2) discouragement from actually doing what the name suggests. Plus, he prefaces it with a request for empathy, by explaining that he promised quality time to his family.
Oh man, I mostly loved my European colleagues, but the “we were gone for a month, why haven’t you done more?” made me so, so stabby. That or the whole “hey, you really need to work harder to get this done by June 25th because none of us are going to be around to take care of our part by July 1.” So, I’m working 65 hour weeks for a month so you don’t have to spend 8 hours of your vacation working? Sounds fair.
If you’re an events-based business, use your out of office auto-reply as a way to promote your upcoming conferences, sessions, and speakers! Jason here, thanks for reaching out to ThinkTank! I’m currently at a speaking event in Chicago. Find out if I’ll be coming to your city here https://txt.st/PQB
When I return from a break, I talk to the people who have acted in my stead and get the rundown of what happened/what needs to still be done. That’s part of my whole “back to work triage”.
While you’re writing and activating your out of office message, avoid including the following:
I had a manager who did exactly that for his paternity leave. I was floored, because I never thought it was an option. His attitude was that if it was important enough, the person would send it again.
For all support requests/needs, please reach out to [email protected] and one of my colleagues will be happy to assist you.
Check out the NEW 8x8 Community!Hello, Anonymous User!My contributionsMy preferencesMy subscriptionsSign out Search Search Sign in How to Set Up a Holiday Schedule for Auto Attendant in 8x8 Admin Console Last updated Save as PDF Share Share Tweet Share
Whatever style you may ultimately decide to adopt, each of these emails should feature these essential elements: Precise reference to the period in which you will be away, as the receiver will want to know when they can reach you again. Inform your correspondent about the date by which they can expect to receive a response to the email they send you during the holiday season. Indication that your will reply to the email when they return. Check Out these examples:
6.) Benvenuti alla John Doe. La nostra linea telefonica diretta non è attiva durante le vacanze. Potete trovare gli esatti orari di apertura sul nostro sito web: www.johndoe.de. Vi ringraziamo per la fiducia accordataci e auguriamo a voi e ai vostri cari buone vacanze e un felice anno nuovo.
So, skip saying you are in Las Vegas attending your favorite conference with the hopes of seeing a show or finding some time to play the slot machines. Even if other colleagues are going to the same conference, just say you will have limited email accessibility for the week and will return the message as soon as possible. Rather than an Instagram post with the view outside your window and naming the hotel as soon as you arrive, save the photos for a limited audience upon your return. Finally, consider adjusting your settings so that your out of office message is sent to contacts only.
Careful. Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).
I don’t think it’s condescending, but I do find it annoying. I have a coworker who sometimes writes emails in this tone of voice, and it’s honestly way too much.
My old job was like that! It was so, so annoying. I understood requiring us to update our voicemails if we were out of the office that day, but it was just a waste of a few minutes every single morning.