Out of office messages: Examples and what to avoid

We’ll show you how it works– and share some examples of effective – and funny – out-of-office messages.
 

1. Why set up an out-of-office email?
2. What should a professional out-of-office reply say?
3. Ready-to-use OOO message templates
4. What to avoid in your out of office messages
5. Funny out of office message examples
6. How do you create automatic replies in your mail.com account?
7. Setting up an automatic reply in Outlook

Why set up an out-of-office email?

Just imagine you are on vacation for two weeks and all the people who sent you emails during that time had no idea you were out of the office. Once you return you might have an inbox full of emails requiring feedback – plus messages from angry clients or frustrated coworkers wondering where you are.

Now imagine you had set out an out of office email instead. Automatic replies would save you the headache of having to email everyone back apologizing for the delay because you were out of the office. Letting people know when they can expect an answer also shows that you’re reliable.  And if they know you are not available, they may be able to contact another coworker to solve their problem.

There are a lot of reasons you might not be able to reply to personal or work emails – the obvious examples being vacation or sick leave. But there might also just be days when you know you won’t get around to reading your emails – like if you need to concentrate on a big freelance project and need to let your customers know you’ll only be checking email once a day. Setting up an OOO message will let others know immediately that you are not available for the time being.

What should a professional out-of-office reply say?

Not sure what to write in an out-of-office message? In most cases, the most important information for your colleagues and customers is:

• The fact that you are out of the office
• The date you will return
• Who they can contact if they need urgent assistance.

You may also like to tell them briefly why you are gone and, if appropriate, a way to contact you in emergencies.

If you need inspiration, why not use one of our templates below?

Professional out of office messages templates

General out of office message

Simple out-of-office message

Out of office message for vacation

Out of office message of sick leave

Out of office message for maternity/paternity leave

Informal out of office message

Depending on your office culture, you may want to take a lighter approach in an out of office message to your colleagues. (Many email programs will let you set up different OOO replies for internal and external emails.)
 

What to avoid in your out of office message

It might be hard to imagine that all information is not good information to offer up when creating your out-of-office message. We would assume that the more information we give the better, but that is not the case. Here are some things to avoid:

1. Going into too much detail. No one wants to read an entire essay about why you can’t answer their email. Keep your OOO message simple and to the point, and make sure it includes the information people really need.
2. Sharing too much personal information. For a good professional email, it is best practice to keep your out of office correspondence as professional and work-related as possible. You should avoid sharing other personal information that is not relevant to your absence.
3. Giving an alternate contact without checking with your colleague. It’s important to get your coworker’s consent before you include their contact information in your out of office email. Even if it is the colleague that usually fills in for you, make sure they will actually be in the office and available to help during your absence.
4. Trying to be funny or inappropriate comments. There is a time to live your best comedic life and a time where a little bit of humor just is not needed. Don’t get us wrong, you can add a little pizazz or personality to your out of office message; however, you should maintain a professional tone. Avoid making any inappropriate comments that may reflect badly on you. That would be the worst to come back to after being out of the office.
5. Including detailed trip/plan information. We know you might want to tell everyone you’re driving across route 66 for the first time ever, but it’s probably best not to. If you share specific information about your trip or plans, this could make you a target for hackers and scammers.  You can always share the breathtaking photographs, experience, and fun times when you’re back. In these cases, it is best to keep the information in your out-of-office email relevant to your work.

Funny OOO message examples

If you are setting up an automatic reply for family and friends, you can certainly use the approach above, but you can also feel free to get creative. Just remember that this is not the approach to take in your professional out of office responses – so be sure to save it for your personal email account! Here are a few classic automatic replies to inspire you:

I’m taking a break from email while I’m on vacation, but if it’s important you can contact me on social media. Please use the hashtag #InterruptingYourHoliday.

Congratulations – you are the proud winner of a free automated email response! If you email me again before July 6, you have a 100% chance of winning again!

I’m unable to reply to your email due to a family emergency: The Wi-Fi is down at our house and the kids are on the verge of killing each other.

How do you create automatic replies in your mail.com account?

As you may know, mail.com offers options for adding a signature on emails and sending automatic replies. So, setting up an out-of-office message for one or all of your mail.com addresses couldn’t be easier. Simply go to E-mail Settings and click Autoresponder. Mouse over the email address you’d like to create an automatic reply for and click on the wrench symbol that appears to the right. Or click Autoresponder for all your sender addresses to send the same automatic reply to all your incoming messages:

This will open a window where you can set the dates for your automatic reply and save the message you want to have sent (up to 500 characters), as in the out of office message sample below:

Setting up an automatic reply in Outlook

If you use MS Outlook in the office, simply click on the File tab in the upper left corner of the application. If you see a button marked Automatic Replies (Out of Office), you can click there and follow the intuitive instructions to create and activate your out of office message.

However, if you use Outlook with POP or IMAP to check a third-party email account (like your mail.com Premium account) this option will not be available. To set up an out of office reply, you will have to use the “Rules” function instead. Unfortunately, to send automatic replies to incoming messages, you will have to leave Outlook running while you are away.

If you would like to use this option, the first step is creating an out-of-office template by composing a new email containing your vacation message and saving it as an Outlook template (*.oft). Once you have done so, go to the File tab and click the Manage Rules & Alerts button. Now you can set up a new rule using the “reply using a specific template” option. (Setting up email rules in Outlook can be complicated, so we recommend visiting the Microsoft support page if you need assistance with your out of office message in Outlook.)

We hope you found this information helpful! Before you start composing your out-of-office message, please give us some feedback below!
 
This article first appeared on June 21, 2021 and was last updated on June 20, 2024.

Images: 1&1/Shutterstock