Whether you're sunning yourself on a beach, hiking through the mountains or walking across... 5 Easy Office Decorations That Will Give Everyone Christmas Envy
2. 2 The Fruitcake. Greetings, Did you know that emails during the holidays are a lot like fruitcakes? Nobody really wants them, but a lot of people end up receiving them, anyhow.
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OMG. When I was in college, my mom got me a summer job at her office. All I did was send faxes, get faxes back, and put dates in a spreadsheet.
Found it! (Reddit’s own search functionality is garbage, but it’s so easy to google for reddit posts, thankfully)
My department still doesn’t allow us to send OOO auto-replies to external recipients because of one incident years ago (a customer tried to contact a sales rep about an urgent order, got the rep’s auto-reply, and in their ensuing panic, somehow got escalated all the way up to the company president). Any external emails we get are auto-forwarded to a centralized mailbox and (ostensibly) handled by another rep while we are out. It bothers me to know that my external contacts won’t get a reponse from me while I’m out and may think I’m just ignoring them.
Many companies offer an escape option so that if a caller ends up in a staff member’s voice mailbox, he or she can “escape” out of the mailbox and go back to the attendant menu. Use a customized auto-attendant for this situation. If you would like to leave a voicemail, please press 1 and leave your name, number, and a brief message. If you would like to return to the main menu, please press the # key.
Thank you very much for your email. Currently, I cannot answer your msg promptly. I will come back to you after my return on Nov 10th.
NOW READ: How to keep shoppers happy and secure sales in the bustling Christmas period
One nice compromise I’ve seen is that some people add upcoming PTO to their email signature for a week or two beforehand. That way the people you’re working with right then get a heads up without needing to spam everyone with the information.
If your request is urgent, there’s no use sitting idly in my inbox. So please send your request to [Contact Name] at [contact email]. Whether you prefer to stick with something simple or have a little fun with your holiday out-of-office message, it’s important that you always make sure to at least include the basics: your return date and an alternative contact people can reach out to for urgent matters.
But this is where it becomes a power thing. The OOO person says that everyone else wants stuff from them that the sender can’t get elsewhere and you need to grovel to get it from them.
I’m currently out of the office between [DATES], as I’m attending the yearly WordCamp. Perhaps you will also be there, and we can meet in person.
8) I am currently out of the office. I have a cell phone, but I will not be giving the number out. If you can guess the number, however, I will take your call.
Thankfully, there’s a way to respond swiftly to all incoming texts without needing to jump onto your computer or phone. The answer is simple—automated text messages.
But I also believe there’s meaningful power in the mundane cultural norms we set and practice. Email, for better or worse, makes up a large chunk of how knowledge workers communicate. So much of this communication is muddled by broken email habits and larger anxieties around performing productivity. We’re constantly nervous about asking too much of others or doing too little on behalf of our coworkers. But we’re also stuck in work patterns that force us to communicate constantly and normalize working and demanding things from colleagues at all hours.
Hi, Happy holidays! I am currently out of the office, with no email access. I’ll be returning on [date] and will get back to you as soon as I can. Happy holidays!