Holidays are coming! To make sure you can completely disconnect, refresh, and relax over the holiday break, you’ve been busy organizing your tasks, wrapping up loose ends, and working ahead.
Before packing your luggage and disconnecting your work phone, you should cross the last item on your to-do list: setting your out-of-office response to inform your coworkers, business partners, and clients of your imminent absence. After a challenging and stressful year, we all desire a distraction-free holiday to relieve our exhaustion.
Finding it difficult to let others know you’ll be away while on vacation? Jolie Siam will suggest three best ready-to-use out-of-office messages, along with advice on how to write an effective message.
After a challenging and stressful year, we all desire a distraction-free holiday
Mục lục
An out-of-office message (or OOO message) is an auto-reply email that notifies people you’re not at work for an extended period of time. They tell your contacts why your response will be delayed and how to get the information or services they need while you are away.
Although some people use auto-replies for texts and phone calls, email is still the preferred method of contact for out-of-office messaging. According to the Harvard Business Review, workers spend 80% of their time communicating with their colleagues via email.
Email is the preferred method of contact for out-of-office message
Coworkers, clients, and subscribers often want quick responses and solutions to their concerns, especially those in customer service, marketing, and communications role.
Setting up an auto-reply out-of-office message for any messages received while you’re away is advised by both in-office and remote work etiquette in order to provide them with a kind, succinct, and professional explanation for why you can’t react right away before it occurs to them not to be misled into thinking that the lack of response from your side is a refusal or rejection of their requests.
If you will be gone for a day, a week, or months, you can always leave an OOO message. Reasons you might set up an out-of-office message include that you’re planning on:
Set your out-of-office message to inform your absence
OOO messages are often brief because all of this information may be covered in a few sentences. Greetings and polite gestures like “thanks for your message” or “let’s talk soon” are helpful additions to the facts. Here are some tips to write an effective out-of-office message.
Out-of-office messages do not have to be extensive; as long as they provide the necessary details, that is sufficient. Details and light humor are preferred by some people, but they are not essential.
Keep your out-of-office message short to be effective
An effective out-of-office email reply usually contains the following points:
Who to contact when you’re away? Name and contact information for the coworker who will assume responsibility should be provided. By doing this, you make sure that in an emergency, your clients and coworkers can still obtain the help they require.
Only use it if you are speaking for yourself. It’s acceptable to have some fun with this circumstance, especially if you are working in the creative industry (writer, content creator, or designer). 66% of people appreciate a fun out-of-office message. Additionally, it’s a clever approach to ask for people’s understanding when you take some time off.
In order for you to know what to aim for, let’s look at some best samples of out-of-office messages. Please feel free to copy and paste them with your own information added as out-of-office templates or boilerplates.
Best out-of-office message templates
[Your personal greeting],
Thank you for your message. I’m currently out of the office and will be unable to respond to your message from [date] to [date] due to [reason].
If your request is urgent, please contact [name of colleague + their job title] for assistance at [email, phone, etc.]. Otherwise, I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible when I return.
[Your personal closing and signature]
Out-of-office messages can include your personality
[Your personal greeting],
Thank you for your message. I’m currently out of the office and will return on [date]. I’m celebrating [event you are attending], and enjoying a much-needed break!
While I rest and recharge to come back more focused than ever, you can contact [name of the colleague + their job title] at [email/phone] for assistance. He/she can help you out just as much as I can, if not better! Otherwise, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
[Your personal closing and signature]
[Your personal greeting],
Thanks for your email. Right now I am camping in the woods with the family, far from any cell tower or wifi hotspot. This blessing/curse means I haven’t even seen this email right now and probably won’t until I return to the 21st century on [date].
Anyway, if your question or favor can wait, great. If not, do me a favor and forward your email to [email address of your colleague] and you’ll be well-treated by [name] She doesn’t have a cape, but she is basically superwoman. See you real soon.
[Your personal closing and signature]
[Your personal greeting],
This is the season when a lot of Vietnamese people get to take a break from work as we’re celebrating the Lunar New Year Festival. I am out of the office for my annual year-end vacation and will not be able to check my mail until after the Lunar New Year on [date].
I’ll respond as quickly as I can when the festivities are over and I’m back at my desk. If your request is urgent, please reach out to my colleague, [name], at [email], for assistance.
Happy holidays!
[Your personal signature]
Enjoy your holiday without being bothered with an out-of-office message
The following steps will guide you to set up an OOO on Outlook:
The following steps will guide you to set up an OOO on Gmail:
It’s easy to set up an out-of-office message
What could be a more effective approach to inform your colleagues and clients that you are on a vacation than a brief out-of-office message? Depending on your sense of humor and the relationship you have with them, the message can vary.
If you are close to them, consider including humor in your letter. You should think about how professional or informal your office culture is.
Making a clever out-of-office message can be a creative method to express your individuality and establish a stronger connection with your customers and business. If you’re in doubt, pick one of these suggested templates for your out-of-office messages.