Every year — right before our annual winter break — I start brainstorming my out-of-office message. I want to be creative, and write something funny, meaningful, and clever. “This year,” tell myself, “I’ll write a note that will make my teammates smile and miss me.”
A great OOO message can deepen our relationships with colleagues and even help us set better boundaries around our time off from work. I know this. I’ve read the article. And yet, every year — around the holidays — I (once again) throw in the towel. When the time comes to put pen to paper, I find myself caving under the pressure of my own expectations. Eventually, I fold and end up writing something completely boring.
Hello! I’ll be OOO Wednesday 12/20, returning January 1. I will get back to you as soon as I can upon my return.
-Paige
So, this year, I’ve decided to take a different approach. I’ve decided that what I’m missing is genuine inspiration. To help me stay motivated and live up to the task, I’ve reached out to a few of my colleagues — some of whom are known company-wide for writing thoughtful OOO messages. Here’s the advice they gave me, along with samples of their work.
If you also struggle with OOO messages, let their creativity guide you.
Tip #1: Have some fun with your message.
Ellen Desmarais (she/her), co-president, Harvard Business Publishing
I used to dread writing out-of-office messages. It was just another task to cross off my long, pre-vacation to-do list. Then one day I read an article about injecting fun into OOO messages. A little lightbulb went on for me: Why do they have to be so boring and formulaic? Could I actually have fun writing my message?
My approach now has been to use my OOO message to promote a piece of Harvard Business Publishing content, to give a creative twist to contacting my admin, and to inject a little humanity into what’s typically sterile communication. As someone who leads a team, I’m also conscious that my message is a way to reinforce my belief in protecting vacation time. It’s really rewarding when someone makes the effort to reply, thanking me for making them smile.
I am out of office through September 10, taking a vacation. As I am trying to disconnect, I’m deliberately traveling to places with sketchy cell service, but I will be checking in intermittently when I reach Wi-Fi.
If you need anything urgently, please reach out to my admin, [email], who has internet access more consistently (as long as the great state of Maine isn’t experiencing weather-related outages).
If you are staying connected and obsessing about how GenAI will transform our societies and businesses, as I am, this article from HBR is a great read for thinking about the interpersonal dimensions: “How AI Affects Our Sense of Self.”
I’ll be back and responding to messages Sept 11. Unless AI has taken my job by then.
Ellen
Tip #2: Use your message to set boundaries (in a nice way).
Kelsey Alpaio (she/her), senior associate editor, HBR
No one likes coming back from vacation to a mountain of unread emails. So, why not just delete them all when you return? One of my favorite out-of-office tips from Daniel Sieberg, author of The Digital Diet, encourages people to write that they won’t be reading or responding to any emails they receive while on vacation and that anyone with an important message should follow up upon their return.
Every year, I’m tempted to try it. But the idea of setting such a strict boundary terrifies me — I’m afraid of inconveniencing someone else or missing out on something important. At the same time, if someone’s message is really that significant, they’ll follow up, right? Here’s a message I’m considering using this year:
Hello!
Thank you for your message. I’m out of the office and don’t have access to my email. Upon my return, I won’t be responding to any emails received while I’m away. If it’s important that I receive your email, I kindly ask that you resend it when I am back in the office on January 5.
Thank you!
Kelsey
Tip #3: Craft two messages — one for colleagues and one for clients.
Dviwesh Mehta (he/him), regional director, South Asia and the Middle East
Frequent travel is a standard part of my role, so I have to send OOO messages often. To me, a good OOO message serves two purposes:
- It manages people’s expectations around how soon you can respond.
- It provides people with an alternative option to solve a high priority or urgent matters.
As a best practice, I create different OOO messages for my internal colleagues and my external clients. For my colleagues, I use a more informal in tone and provide my specific whereabouts, my current time zone, the date of my return, and alternative contact information in case of urgent issues.
For my clients, I use a more direct and formal tone. I thank them for their email, share the expected date of my return, and take the opportunity to highlight recent exciting product or service developments from the company. I also mention the company’s 24-hour customer service team and self-serve features, empowering clients to navigate generic questions independently and swiftly.
Importantly, I express to email senders both internally and externally that their messages will not be missed and show gratitude for their understanding and patience.
For internal colleagues:
Hi,
Thanks for reaching out. I am currently out of office, traveling to Melbourne to speak at the business summit and meet colleagues and clients in the region. During this time, I will have very limited access to emails, so please expect a delay. I will be back at the office on [date].
In the case that your message is urgent, please drop a text or WhatsApp at [phone number]. Otherwise, I will get back to you as soon as possible upon my return.
Warm regards!
Dviwesh
For external clients/partners:
Hi,
Thanks for reaching out. I am currently out of office, traveling to Melbourne to speak at the business summit and meet colleagues and clients in the region. Due to my schedule and time difference, please expect a delay in my response. I will be back in office on [date].
If your request is time sensitive, please send an email to our amazing customer success team members at [email], who are available 24/7. To get recommendations on our teaching materials, you can explore all the new features of Course Explorer on our website, which is curated by our editors, partners, and faculty from leading business schools.
In the case that your message is urgent, please drop a text or WhatsApp at [phone number]. Otherwise, I will get back to you as soon as possible upon my return.
Thanks for your understanding!
Dviwesh
Tip #4: Drop a thoughtful recommendation into your message.
Ian Fox (he/him), product manager, HBR Audio
Any time I’m OOO, I include a personal podcast recommendation. Usually it’s one of our shows, but sometimes it’s just a podcast that I think my coworkers would enjoy. I find that recommendations are a fun, easy way to find commonalities with my peers and share more about my taste. As a remote worker, I don’t have “water cooler moments” to chat with folks. My OOO message gives me and my team members a freebie for small talk. Recommendations also work well no matter who receives it: a coworker, my boss’s boss’s boss, or an external client.
Plus, who doesn’t want good podcast recommendations?
Thank you for reaching out! I am OOO while I attend Resonate Podcast Festival.
For urgent production matters, please contact [email]. For urgent business or technical matters, please contact [email]. Otherwise, I look forward to responding when I return next week.
In the meantime, I encourage you to listen to our new show, New Here, the young professional’s guide to work — and how to make it work for you. It’s a fun, insightful listen and I bet you’ll learn something no matter where you are in your career.
Thank you!
Ian
Tip #5: Try your best to sound like a human being — not a robot.
John Korpics (he/him), VP executive creative director, HBR
I like to remind people that there’s a human being on the other side of their screen. I usually include something specific as to why I’m away. It gives people something to react to and encourages connections. I also think it’s nice to try and get people to smile.
I am out of the office attending my daughter’s graduation from UCSB (Go Gauchos!). Two daughters and eight years of college has made a bit of a dent in the old savings account, so I will definitely be back in the office Monday.
John