The perfect out of office message: examples and helpful tips

If you’re going on vacation or are sick and either can’t or don’t want to be reached by email, then an automatic answer in the form of an out of office reply is useful so that your un­in­formed contacts aren’t kept waiting. However, it is sometimes confusing to know what you should include in your out of office message. We give you helpful tips on the structure and content of your reply as well as provide you with various out of office message examples.

What should you include in an out of office message?

What you include in your out of office message depends on the context. While some companies expect a formal approach, others don’t mind if you liven up the text and make it more personal.

Whether formal or personal, your out of office reply should always be short and sweet and only convey the most important in­for­ma­tion:

• Saying that you’ll be un­reach­able
• Letting others know when they can expect an answer
• The reason for your absence (optional)
• Email address of a colleague they can contact

Below you will find eight samples of out of office messages that contain all the important in­for­ma­tion and are also suitable for different target groups.

Example of out of office message for vacation

Example of out of office message to clients regarding stand-in

Example of out of office message when sick

Example of out of office message during the holiday season

In addition to an out of office reply, it is also a nice touch to wish your clients a Merry Christmas. However, the content and mood must be right. In this article, we show you how to write Christmas greetings to customers.

Example of out of office message for parental leave

Example of out of office message after res­ig­na­tion

You have the option to use various templates and examples when writing an out of office reply, but how do you formulate the perfect message yourself?

How to create an out of office message step by step

Title

In the title, it’s customary to simply write “Out of Office Reply”. This way, everyone knows that you’re not available im­me­di­ate­ly after they receive the automated response.

Greeting

Start your out of office message with a greeting. You can also thank them for the incoming message. A com­bi­na­tion of these is also possible.

Examples:

• Hi!
• Thank you for your message!
• Hello, and thanks for your email!

Reach­a­bil­i­ty

In the second line of the text, you should write the most important in­for­ma­tion, which is when you can be reached again as well as the reason for your absence if you want to disclose it. If you’re going to be absent for an in­def­i­nite amount of time, then just naming the reason is enough. Details on when you’ll be reachable again leaves a better im­pres­sion than stating the time of your absence.

Examples:

• I am currently out of the office on vacation. I will reply to your message when I return on Monday, MM/DD/YY, hh:mm.
• I will be back in the office on Monday, MM/DD/YY, hh:mm.

For­ward­ing

If your emails aren’t going to be forwarded or can’t be viewed by a colleague, it is sometimes important to share this in­for­ma­tion. Depending on your clients, it may be useful to give a reason or express regret.

Examples:

• Your message will not be forwarded au­to­mat­i­cal­ly.
• For reasons of con­fi­den­tial­i­ty, your message will not be forwarded.
• Please un­der­stand that your message cannot be forwarded.

Referral

If a colleague is standing in for you, you can include their email address and/or telephone number. A request to only use this option in urgent cases can help filter out smaller matters.

Examples:

• You are welcome to contact my colleague [colleague name] with any requests you may have: [colleague email address].
• In urgent cases, you can contact my colleague [colleague name]: [colleague email address].
• For emer­gen­cies, please call the following number: [telephone number].

Ending

You can use a simple ending to finish your message. In an out of office reply, it’s also quite common to omit them entirely.

Examples:

• Thanks, [your name]
• Cheers/Best/Regards, [your name]

Overview of com­po­nents with examples

Customize your out of office message

Your out of office message doesn’t have to be as formal as in the above examples. In many in­dus­tries, you can converse with customers in a more relaxed and cordial manner. This is es­pe­cial­ly true among col­leagues if email com­mu­ni­ca­tion is limited in­ter­nal­ly within the company so only your coworkers would read the message anyway. Even with many external business partners, a “quick” reply is still common. We show you here how you can per­son­al­ize your out of office reply and which parts you can omit.

What to include in a personal out of office message

When it comes to style, you can decide for yourself what suits your company. Keep in mind that your su­per­vi­sors may receive the same out of office message as your col­leagues that you have more of a relaxed re­la­tion­ship with. Consider these tips with caution.

What not to include in a personal out of office message

If your out of office message is to be kept quite formal, certain stylistic devices can overshoot the mark. We show you which mistakes you should def­i­nite­ly avoid making.

The risk as­so­ci­at­ed with out of office replies

Setting up an out of office message is part of business email com­mu­ni­ca­tion etiquette and is mandatory for many companies. Nev­er­the­less, you should think carefully about what in­for­ma­tion you disclose in your out of office reply.

This is because it is becoming in­creas­ing­ly common for criminals and spammers to take advantage of the in­for­ma­tion it contains. For example, dis­clos­ing in­for­ma­tion on periods of absence can let criminals know when it’s a good time to break into houses or offices. The automatic out of office message also has a major advantage for spammers. By sending messages to thousands of randomly generated email address vari­a­tions, the automatic reply can be used to filter out which addresses actually exist.

This article on what your out of office message tells attackers explains more on the topic and provides tips on pre­vent­ing the misuse of out of office replies.