Any correspondence (email or phone calls) sent my way will be responded to within 2–3 days of my return.
The auto-reply only replies ONCE to each email account, the first time they send. If someone sends you multiple messages, they will not get multiple replies back. This is a useful feature because it prevents your account from flooding a mailing list with replies or from filling your email inbox with automatic rejections from "do not reply" accounts.
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You probably received a number of these emails, and thus you should be familiar with the information out-of-office emails provide.
It’s possible I might quote from some responses to this in an upcoming column, so please note if you don’t want me to do that with yours!
But really, I think people who know you WFH will get your meaning and people who don’t know you WFH won’t care or feel misled if they find out you really work from home.
I appreciate your message. I am out of the office currently with no office email access. However, return on the following [date-of-return].
I worked at a public agency and would have different out-of-office messages for internal and external. I was chastised for having a “too informal” message- because the idiot talking to me didn’t realize me saying “I’ll be back next Tuesday for the big staff meeting” (or whatever) was just for co-workers and not the public. I told them but of course it didn’t matter. So from then on I always made sure to start my internal OOOs- “Hello Company X comrade…. blah.” So it was clear which was which. I am not able to respond to your email promptly because my husband died. I will not be accepting zoom invitations. Please do not respond by suggesting future alternative dates. I don’t know when I will be able to speak without crying.
I think simple is best, and also safest. I found the message in the post amusing as an AAM article, but if I had contacted this person on a serious and/or urgent work matter I would probably be annoyed by the comedy skit. And I was contacting them because they had messed up somehow, it would land very badly.
If your message is unclear or incomplete, it can create a negative impression on your customers when you are away. For example, if your message does not clearly state what dates you will be unavailable, your clients and co-workers are likely to fill up your inbox with messages, making it difficult for you to catch up when you are back. Failure to include the contact information of the person they can contact in your absence can affect your ongoing projects.
Not an OOO issue but the comment about PTSD from OldJob reminded me of this. I am a recreational sailor who often made longer offshore trips as my vacation. OldBoss INSISTED that we provide contact instructions. Mine was some variant of “Dial O and ask for the Marine Operator. Give them [name of boat], [call sign] and [approximate location by date] along with your name and credit card number. We will be monitoring Channel 16 at these times…..” Never got a call. Word spread and there was a sudden epidemic of sailing vacations in my office!
i am 100 percent in favor of using email signatures and out of office messages to be more blunt about how you want other people to use/respect your time. from this: https://t.co/AkCrvVFVW0 https://t.co/on4YIpN7nB
On the other hand, you can get more interesting or playful with subject lines such as:
Thanks for your email. I’m currently out of the office, returning on [date]. I’ll respond to your message then.
I say “thanks for your message” because it feels to brusque without a greeting – but I can see it either way.
Thank You for being the Prince of Peace, and I ask You for that supernatural peace to reign in our hearts. Thank You for the simple but life-changing message of Your love for us. In Jesus' Name,...
Because I used to get phone calls that defaulted to, “I need the director”, I had my out of office mail set to:
Also, you need to know your audience if you are going to go eccentric. Alison mentions that this message is fine in their culture, but it wouldn’t npbe appropriate for my somewhat formal field. And even if your workplace in general is casual, you might be contacted by someone outside. (In a tiny provincial courthouse I served in the past, there is a story going around that in the 80s a junior but elderly clerk used to address phone callers as hun and sweetheart and generally speak very informally. Most people thought it was funny, and then the President of Supreme Court called and… he didn’t).