The big issue I have with the example in the post is that not only is it unnecessarily long-winded, but you have to listen through all the chattiness to get to the “here’s who to contact in a real emergency” part. The tone does rub me wrong, but I’m willing to roll with that as a personality/company culture thing.
It was just this colleague – it (thankfully) wasn’t the culture of the office, and I never saw anyone else abuse the OOO like this.
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Chances are you’ll be checking email while you’re on vacation. Almost two-thirds of travelers do, according to a poll by travel agency Travel Leaders Group. But just because you can’t unplug doesn’t mean your coworkers and clients need to know. In fact, you’d probably prefer that they leave you alone so you can enjoy your getaway on your own terms.
Don’t you worry: while I pretend to be Santa in front of my kids, my colleague, Hannah, will cover for me. Just email her at [email protected] if you need urgent assistance.
No matter what your message says, just make sure you have one – it’s the polite and professional thing to so. To help you get started, we’ve put together some examples you can test, tweak, use, and share with colleagues.
I’ve done this a couple times: on the 3rd sick day when it’s all I can do to just set an OOO, and I’m tired of updating the dates and feel like I’m never going to get better.
Dear Customer, Our office is closed and you can expect to hear back from me by [date]. Have a great holiday! Regards [Name/signature]
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4.( مرحبا بكم في John Doe للحلول. بسبب حدث خاص، فإن موظفينا غير متوفرون اليوم. إننا ندعوكم لترك رسالة. وسنكون في خدمتكم مرة أخرى يوم الاثنين. شكرا لتفهمكم.
Unfortunately, I’m going to have to return your message. As it’s the holiday season, I’m currently away from the office. When I return, I’ll give your email a good solid read and find that your request is exactly what I needed after all! But until then, I’m going to keep it in the inbox so it doesn’t get damaged and revisit it after the holidays are over.
Interesting! I’d be unpleasantly surprised and tempted to scold them for not taking a proper break.
My colleague does that just for holidays.. it does say who else to contact, but tbh if I’m emailing him a couple of days before he’s due to return then I’m not massively impressed at the insinuation I should take the action of remembering to resend it… in reality I think he probably does read *some* emails but clearly views the OOO as a way to absolve responsibility if he misses something..
6. Simple Automatic Email Reply Example. [Your Greeting] I will be away from (Date of Leave) until (Date of Return). For all urgent matters, you can contact
Even if I do have access to my email while I’m vacation, I typically do “I’m out of office with no access to email or voicemail until (date). For anything requiring immediate attention please contact (boss).” If I happen to check my email I can still forward the important ones, but otherwise hopefully people get the message that I will not be responding.
I am on annual leave until [DD/MM/YY]. I will allow each sender one email and if you send me multiple emails, I will randomly delete your emails until there is only one remaining. Choose wisely.
If you’re reading this in your inbox, you can find a shareable version online here. You can follow me on Twitter here, and Instagram here. Feel free to comment below — and you can always reach me at [email protected].
That said, I think it is the kind of thing that is funny with the right people and in the right situation. But an out of office message is an autosend situation, so the email system cannot actually assess if it is appropriate or if the person receiving it will find it amusing, or unprofessional, or apparently even condescending. So while it is a hilarious message for a joke, it would not be a good idea in a professional setting!