A good out-of-office message does three things: tells the sender when you’ll be back, tells them who to contact if they can’t wait, and sounds like a human wrote it. Most OOOs fail on the third one, which is why senders ignore them and follow up on day two anyway.
Here’s how to write one people respect.
What are the five rules for an out-of-office message?
- Say when you’re back — a specific date, not “shortly”
- Say whether you’re checking email at all — don’t pretend
- Name one backup and their email
- Skip the priority-order promises — no one believes them
- Match your normal tone — if you write like a person, don’t suddenly write like a legal notice
What’s a good example for a short trip (one week)?
Hi, I’m away until Monday, September 30. Back at my desk after that. For anything urgent, please email [name] at [email]. Otherwise I’ll reply when I’m back.
Three sentences. Specific date. One backup. No promises.
What about an extended leave (parental, sabbatical, medical)?
Longer absences deserve slightly more warmth, because the sender may be surprised:
I’m on parental leave until January 15. During this time, [name] is covering my inbox and can be reached at [email]. For anything that can wait, I’ll get to it when I’m back — thanks for your patience.
The word “thanks” costs nothing and softens the whole thing.
Should I list every backup for every topic?
No. Listing four backups by area of expertise is what makes OOOs read like org charts. Pick one person. If they need to route the message internally, they will. Adding four names doesn’t help the sender — it just makes the message look defensive.
What about auto responders for weekends and after-hours?
Only send one if you actually mean it. An “I don’t check email after 6 PM” auto reply that goes out at 6:05 while you’re clearly on Slack destroys trust faster than no boundary at all.
What if I’m not really “out of office” but drowning in email?
That’s the year-round problem OOOs weren’t designed for. This is where an AI email auto responder like Konnector helps — it reads every incoming email and drafts a personalized reply in your voice, so you’re not choosing between a canned “I’ll reply eventually” message and staying on top of the inbox yourself. [YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE — one specific example of how “drowning in email but not on holiday” shows up in a customer’s day.]
The mistake to avoid
Every OOO template on the internet suggests some version of “I’ll respond in the order I received them upon my return.” Skip it. It sets an expectation you won’t keep and it’s the phrase that most makes people ignore the message.
Try Konnector
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