17 Nov Email Protocol: The Best Way to Say You’re on Vacation
We’ve all had the experience of going on vacation and still getting caught up in work emails. So how do you create an email response that kindly lets the world know you’re away and gets you the R & R you deserve? Tim Herrera of The New York Times offers these tips.
Photo Credit: www.mywayholiday.com
It’s almost holiday season! That means it’s time to book our flights, make plans to see old friends, eat too much at dinner with the family and, most crucial, set your out-of-office email vacation responder.
I asked you to send in your best auto-replies, and hundreds of you emailed or tweeted your responses. Many of you said you keep it simple — “I’ll be back next week, if it’s an emergency email this person” — while others lamented that it can seem impossible to truly unplug because our smartphones make us always connected. (Deeply agree with that one.)
Tons of your auto-replies were fantastic, so this week I’m highlighting some of my favorites!
Elisabetta Groppelli:
When my holiday feels overdue I use: “Gone Fishing.” I don’t fish and know nothing about fishing, but to me, those two words mean “I’ve had enough, see you later world.”
At the University of Pennsylvania facilities department, we receive a training on office collaboration, etiquette and ethics. One lesson was: Don’t lie when you write your out of office message.
So now instead of writing, “I will respond when I return to the office,” which is so unlikely as to be untrue, I write, “Please contact me again when I return.”
Click here to read a few more suggestions.
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