That’s weird! I would specifically not say maternity leave, since I don’t want to invite a lot of questions about the birth, baby, etc. when I come back to work. Just let me focus on catching up on my job! (I work with a lot of external clients, though. Internal-only would be different.)
As a “don’t try this at home” anecdote, last week we had an all staff retreat, and we were asked to put up away messages. I put a perfectly professional one up for outside email, but in a fit of whimsy, the internal mail triggered an away message that said “Why are you emailing? We are supposed to be paying attention to the retreat!” I figured, we were all at the retreat, so nobody would ever know. Of course, someone did email me 30 minutes before everything started, and triggered the message. Fortunately, he figured out it was an away message and thought it was funny.
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Work is important, and most of us go for a career, but we also need to have a break from time to time. Summer vacations are coming up, and you deserve to go soak up the sun on the beach for a while, or perhaps conquer a mountain top or two. And, if you are more of a skiing fan, you could just wait for the Winter to come. Another option is to simply stay at home and hibernate while binge-watching shows on Netflix. Even if you don’t have any particular plans, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take some time and disconnect from work for a while.
Website: https://www.onsip.com/voip-resources/smb-tips/after-hours-voicemail-and-auto-attendant-greetings
A standard OOO responder email simply needs to inform the sender that you are out of the office and when to expect a response. Like this: Hi there, Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office until [date] and will have limited access to my email. If you require immediate assistance for any urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email] or [phone] in my absence. Best,
That’s it. That’s all. Simple and to the point, this message will let people know that you can’t respond to messages.
But despite these (fantastic) suggestions, the number one rule for choosing your out of office is that it reflects who you are as a person. Don’t change for anyone, especially not your auto-responder.
Exactly! This may be the type of person who hears a phrase that sounds polite when referring to another, but mangles it and uses it to refer to themself so it becomes the opposite of polite.
Sorry I missed you — I’m unable to get to my email right this second. Why? I’m on a backpacking trip, surviving on Spam, really good water, and trail mix. You should see the stars out here.
Our office will be closed on Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, May 26th at 8:00 a.m.
That’s what I always reasoned… better to annoy with too much information that saves hassle on the backend then be brief upfront and sentence people to OoO purgatory.
The root of that question, as pointed out in this New York Times article, is that taking vacation can be a bit emotionally conflicting.
It’s also expected that if you’re in Wales you put the effort in to at least try and read Welsh, but tbh I can barely read English before 10am.
Meanwhile, I do sometimes put up long ones when I will be away for some days during a season in which there are a confluence of three or four very likely reasons someone would contact me, and who else they need to contact isn’t the same. Like, it’s high llama grooming season, and generally during this month I get two or three requests per week for each of llama bleaching (for which my backup is Stella), llama shaving (for which it’s Arturo), and llama perming (for which it’s Carter). My message says I’ll be out until blah blah, and if it’s not an urgent llama grooming issue, I’ll get back to you after that, but meanwhile, for urgent llama grooming here’s who to call.
If you are unavailable and a client needs contact, a colleague’s contact information can be included. The text should also indicate when it’s appropriate to contact the alternate. Some people will indicate that the contact is for urgent matters while others may offer for consistent client care.
What I really hate is when I get back to the office and haven’t taken the 10 minutes to go into our labyrinthian voicemail system, remove the out of office voicemail message, and record a new one (without being interrupted, stuttering, etc.) and some SUPER DUPER HELPFUL person feels the need to InFoRm mE in their voicemail message that I sTiLl HaVe My OuT oF oFfIcE mEsSaGe Up!!!1!
Q. Will students who want to enroll or receive information from various departments be able to talk with someone during winter break?