My old job was like that! It was so, so annoying. I understood requiring us to update our voicemails if we were out of the office that day, but it was just a waste of a few minutes every single morning.
Who doesn’t love a bit of decoding? Why use basic words, when a broad range of emojis can spell out exactly what you want to say, but in a much more interactive and fun way?
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Boss would put up an OOO when attending an event off-site, but would still be answering their emails, which meant that I would get “Boss said you were the correct contact, can you help?” Inevitably, I would respond and, two hours later, Boss would too, cc-ing me on the original email in which they shared the exact same info I had earlier that day. It was MADDENING.
4. You snooze, you lose! The [holiday name] sale will end soon. Even though holiday sales last for quite long, some of us still have trouble finding something special for themselves or their loved ones.
Okay. Before you go into fancyland or funnyland about how you're in the woods protecting yourself against bears, remember Rule 1! Make sure you have all the pertinent details in your out of office message.
By now, your neighbourhood supermarket is probably already blasting the classic Christmas tunes, your favourite colleagues are on vacation many miles away, and you’re counting down the days till you get to clear your annual leave 😏
IDK, I try to change my OOO if I’m out for a day. It might not be completely necessary, but I’d rather inform people, and it doesn’t happen often enough to be annoying for me.
Do you know what we’re doing too much of? We’re working too much, and we think too seriously about ourselves while doing it. That’s why including a joke or something fun in your out of office message could be so powerful.
If you don’t see the Automatic Replies button, follow the steps to use rules to send an out of office message.
I am on sick leave with no access to emails and phone calls. Hence, kindly expect a delayed response.
On the other hand, you can get more interesting or playful with subject lines such as:
Are you fully inspired by the creative out-of-office messages above? It’s time to write your own — your upcoming vacation depends on it. Try HubSpot’s OOO Email Generator if you’re feeling stuck, and remember, an out-of-office email doesn’t need to be boring. On the contrary, it should inform and entertain. You don’t want people hating on you because you took a much-needed break.
Plus, he incorporated a delightful technique to let people know that if they really wanted him to read their emails, they should probably send them again after his return. Not only does that keep the sender accountable by saying, "If this is really important, you know when to reach me," but it also helps him truly vacate his work while he's away. And that's hard to do.
Try something like, "For immediate assistance, please contact Boss Name at [email protected]."
I’d then check off all that applied—people would laugh each time they saw it bc I’m such a predictable nerd, one or both of the first two lines was almost always checked off…and usually both!
I’ve started going really, really simple on OOO messages – literally just “I’ll be out of the office until ___, please contact ___ for questions about ____”
The iPhone DND mode is supposed to use while you drive. When driving, you don’t need to divert your attention while driving, and you can set Do Not Disturb while driving. There are a few options to set Auto Text while driving. You can place on the iPhone to switch automatically to DND mode while driving by detecting motion.