Two creative out-of-office emails to inspire you!

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Out of office

Vacation season is upon us again, so the Blueprint team have compiled some humorous out-of-office emails to inspire you to create your own OOO message this summer.

As we’ve noted before, travel stress or work-related problems can eat into your vacation and leave you feeling more frazzled than when you left. It also turns your “after-break” a terrible and messy go back to work.

That’s why it’s essential to set your out-of-office messages on your email and other communication platforms before you leave.

Writing a good out-of-office message

Our tips for effective out-of-office messaging include: maintaining a professional tone; getting your schedule right; and including all the pertinent information – at a minimum, you’ll need to include the dates you’ll be absent, a succinct reason for your absence and details for the points of contact in your absence.

But injecting a little humor into your message doesn’t hurt either. Here’s three of our favorite examples from the web, to inspire your own out-of-office messaging!

#1. Get to the point succinctly

Including all the relevant points in your out-of-office reply doesn’t have to lead to the creation of some lengthy explanation. It’s possible to keep it short and sweet while injecting a little humor, as this example from a Future of Working out-of-office complication shows.

So here’s the thing: I’m not in the office right now. I’m – well, you probably don’t want to hear this as you’re probably working yourself, but – I’m actually on vacation. In other news, I will be back at my desk on [date]. If you need someone today and that’s it, there’s no convincing you otherwise, then please email [contact email address].

#2. A little self-depreciating humor goes a long way

With the rise of staycations and the cost-of-living pressures on us all right now, this message featured on the Findymail blog really struck a chord with our team. As well as hitting all the right content points, we love the self-depreciating humor.

I’m not in the office. I’m at home doing a “staycation” and probably wishing I had actually planned something to do this week. I’ll be back in the office on [date], so please forward your email to [contact email] and someone will be happy to assist you.

I bet they know how to vacation properly too.

What next?

Find other tips for office life and how to make the most of your vacation time on our blog:

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