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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

What does your work email OOO say?

131 replies

YawnyMcdawny · 06/08/2023 17:16

If you have a job that requires you to put an email Out Of Office reply on, what do you put?

I recently put something like 'I am on annual leave with no access to my emails and will respond when I return on date. If query is urgent please contact person x'

Some of my colleagues write 'leave me a message on my mobile and I will respond'.

I'm thinking it's annual leave and I am on holiday. The world won't fall apart if I don't answer, and neither will my colleagues btw.

Our general manager works whilst she's on holiday, replies to emails and messages very quickly within a few hours usually. it doesn't set a great example for the rest of the company who actually want to switch off. She gets a bit sarky if someone puts a proper ooo message and then doesn't actually check their emails whilst they are off.

AIBU to think I should be able to take time off without having to work?

what do you put as your ooo and do you respond to emails whilst away? If so why? If you're being honest, what would happen if you delegated your work to someone else?

Obviously if you run your own business or are self employed I know this will sit differently! I'm talking about being employed by a company where you get paid holidays.

OP posts:

Oysterbabe · 07/08/2023 12:52

maxelly · 07/08/2023 12:27

Also, does anyone else ever give themselves a mini panic attack where you've written a stroppy and/or bad news email to someone, dithered over the 'send' button for ages, finally hit it then jump out of your seat when seconds later the person appears to have replied already! Of course it's only the bloody out of office (or generic, we've received your email we'll get back to you' message). I've even done it in the past where I've put my own email address in the 'to' field to use a BCC or as a safety net against hitting send too soon, forgotten to change it then panicked when I accidentally email myself . Or maybe it's only me that can't cope with these minor email trivialities?

I normally throw these grenade emails at the end of the day and quickly log off 😅

Starseeking · 07/08/2023 17:18

@maxelly my 24 hour acknowledgement SLA is more an aspiration, rather than an auto-response, or compliance measure; I'm not checking up on anybody.

Having seen people from outside the team experiencing email replies from my team ranging from immediate to months, it felt like we had to set some sort of standard.

I imagine roughly 80% of my team will comply, and there'll be roughly 20% "rebels", however given I'm not checking the only way I'll know is if a complaint about no response gets escalated up to me, and the team member hasn't done what they were supposed to. At that point they'll need to explain themselves, with the knowledge that they didn't do what was requested so we provide good customer service.

Meowandthen · 07/08/2023 20:02

UsingChangeofName · 06/08/2023 23:08

I find it disingenuous that a GM says that they work during annual leave, but doesn't expect anyone else too. It's literally setting the example and shaping the culture of the whole organisation.

Except that a General Manager's role is different from other roles.

You seem to be forgetting that some people's jobs are different from other people's jobs. There are plenty of jobs where people are paid "to get their work done", and that nobody else is managing their hours. Also that nobody else picks up their work, when they aren't in work. Not everyone is paid to do set hours, or even a set number of hours. Each of those people are different in the way they then choose to manage their workload.

Quite. Not everyone is a 9-5 employee. When you work for yourself or a run a business you have far more responsibility.

I put on an OOO message but check in as it’s my business. Urgent queries are directed to my PA but I’ll deal with any emergencies.

When she is on leave, she doesn’t have to check in but she’s an employee. Entirely different situations.

Claretmum · 07/08/2023 20:04

I'm on annual leave, back on xxxx.

If urgent, please call the Police.

Claretmum · 07/08/2023 20:06

Oysterbabe · 07/08/2023 12:52

I normally throw these grenade emails at the end of the day and quickly log off 😅

Show quote history

I did this before going on leave 🤣🤣 sent all of my disciplinary charges out then let them squawk to an unmonitored email inbox for a week.

Ladyoftheknight · 07/08/2023 20:23

I'm currently not available to monitor my inbox or calls. If you need me urgently, please contact [email protected] or call 1234567891011 and they will pass on your message.

I don't even check it when I don't need to, thankfully most people I work with know when I'm not available so i don't come back to hundreds of missed emails and calls. The few I don't get to are triaged and handled by colleagues.

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