I mean, this is what I pretty much did upon returning from my maternity leaves but I would never put it into an email! My maternity leave OOO was the vague “I am on extended leave and am not anticipated to return until X. Please contact Joe or Fergus in my absence.” X being a vague time-frame based on my due date and the length of my leave. No one is waiting 3+ months for an answer so I did get to delete most of the 500 emails I got during my most recent leave! I did once have someone internal tell me I should say maternity leave rather than leave, but really, what does it matter? I’m gone for a few months and no one outside of the company really NEEDS to know why.
I feel for the people who have to cover others’ out-of-office for a few hours or a day, just as much as I feel for those who have to arrange cover whenever they’re out for a meeting. If the purpose is showing demanding clients that they can get a quick response to their issues at any time, then…won’t talking to someone who doesn’t have any context about their business piss them off even more? It all feels like unnecessary stress to put on people.
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Hi, I will be away from my desk [MM/DD] until [MM/DD]. For urgent matters, you can contact [name] at [email] or [phone]
I might sound nitpicky but the language is important. “Might” or “may be” or “slower than usual” are vague and don’t offer the sender all that much information about when you’re really going to respond to them. Worse, they do a horrible job of protecting the time of the email receiver who, as the responder notes, is not in the office! Such a responder implies that, not only will the vacationer reply to the email, but they may not even miss a beat. They may be slow to respond, but they also might not.
ContentsHow to Set Up an Out of Office Reply in the Outlook Desktop AppHow to Set Up Out of Office Replies in the Microsoft Outlook Web Version
Please note that all company offices will be closed [date] to [date]. We will reopen [date], and close again for [date] and [date]. We wish you all the warmest of holiday cheer!
Careful. Holiday revelry and debauchery ahead. Proceed with caution (if you dare).
When one of my colleagues is out of the office, he doesn’t mess around. In fact, he’s turned his auto-responses into a running series of commentary from fictional cartoon character Troy McClure.
The worst one I ever received was from a coworker (senior to me, but not my manager) many years ago. I’ll paraphrase it as my memory isn’t great:
I will be away from (Date) until (Return Date). For urgent matters, you can contact (Contact Person).
Automated reply messages are a great way for businesses to fulfill customer support expectations of receiving a prompt response for their chat or email requests. Automated reply messages empower businesses to:
I will return with a glowing tan on [insert date] and respond promptly to all emails. If your request is time sensitive, please email [insert name] at [insert email].
I just say that I’m out of the office. Practically, it makes no difference where this office is located.
Hi, I am currently out of the office until [MM/DD]. I will reply to emails as soon as I can upon my return. If this is urgent, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone]. In the meantime, check out this new [product/sale/service/etc]. I can answer any questions about it for you when I get back.
“Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will have no access to email. I will respond to your emails when I return on [date], but it may take me one to two days to sift through the messages. I appreciate your patience while I’m out. If you require immediate attention, please contact [name].”
Our office will be closed on [date] for the public holiday and will reopen again as normal on [date]. Contact details for emergency can be found on our website.
Office closed for holiday email Signature. Conoce el Catálogo de Celulares, Línea Blanca, Pantallas, Laptops, Videojuegos y Hogar. Conoce las Ofertas en Laptops, Desktops, Tablets, Impresoras y Accesorios de Cómputo This email is to inform you [all] that the office will be closed for [X] days from [DATE] to [DATE] due to the coming festive season.