Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from mm/dd to mm/dd and will have limited access to email / will not have access to email. If this is urgent, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. I will do my best to respond promptly to your email when I return on mm/dd. Why is out of office message important?
Don’t beat around the bush! This is an expression that means you should get to the point. That is, you should make your message direct and brief. This will let the recipient quickly know that you’re not available and who they can contact instead. You can start with a simple greeting and then proceed to the message like in the following examples:
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Hah! Maternity/parental leave is often 1 year here, so there is zero expectation you will read or “catch up” afterwards. We keep our email addresses during where I work (Canadian government), so it’s standard to put an OOO that just says “on parental leave. Please contact X instead” with no reference to actually reviewing any of those emails, and often not even a projected date of return since people often flex their return date or take extra time, or just return to a different position entirely (out of choice).
These messages are generally formal in nature and have the information about the unavailability of an individual and also the details of the person who can be contacted in his/her absence.
You might receive multiple emails from coworkers and clients if you’re not specific about your absence dates, which will clog your inbox and make it hard for you to remain productive when you get back.
A former coworker used to always include a kitten picture when she submitted invoices.
5.) Estimados/as clientes/as, nuestras oficinas permanecerán cerradas del 24 de diciembre al 2 de enero. Podrá contactar con nosotros en horario habitual a partir del lunes 5 de enero. Le deseamos a usted y a su familia unas felices fiestas y un próspero año nuevo lleno de éxitos.
I don’t include this much detail on my OOO, but I do include if I am out of the office for religious observance, because I don’t use electronics on my holidays and want people to know that I really won’t get their message until the holiday is over. (Unlike the norm in my workplace that otherwise senior people are checking email even if we’re sick or on vacation. I know, I know.)
Sample Phone Scripts. After Hours Voicemail for a Small Business: Thanks for calling (our company). The office is currently closed. Office hours are 9am to 6pm, Eastern Time. Please leave a message at the tone and we'll call you back on the next business day. Thank you. Voicemail Script: You have reached (your business name).
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Seconded, with one exception: I got one once from a distant coworker which said “I have broken my arm in a kitten-related fall and will be out for (…)”. Everyone else uses boilerplate language so that one definitely stood out, but I thought it was the right level of mildly amusing.
This is hilarious. I always read those kinds of efficiency hacks and think “wow, I wish I had the kind of job that let me set hard, weird boundaries for myself that inconvenience everyone else,” and now I learn that I apparently could have just asserted it without it being appropriate at all.
I recently described myself as being “out of the virtual office.” Away from the virtual office” would probably have been even more precise. I think whatever you say, people will understand what you mean.
This is [NAME’s] bot. [NAME] is indisposed and unable to respond to your email. I’m replying to let you know that she will return to her desk on [DATE]. It is her intent to attend to your request promptly at that time. Meanwhile, [NAME] leaves you with the following message.Please ponder its significance: “I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.” — [NAME]
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.
1.) Welcome to John Doe. Our telephone hotline is not occupied over the holidays. Our office hours can be found on our website at www.joendoe.de - Thank you for your confidence. We wish you and your loved ones happy holidays and a happy new year.
It’s really only meant as a courtesy but if your culture is different I can see where it’s eye-roll y.