Emails when on annual leave

[Tennisplayers]

I have just gone back to work after a weeks annual leave. Does anyone else have emails in their inbox from people asking them to action things? I don’t understand why emails are sent asking you to call people back when you have an out of office on and won’t be back for a week. Back in the day multiple people could cover each others role but most people left so now people won’t upskill and leave urgent tasks for people to action when they get back from annual leave. It never seems like you had a break.

I've come back to the same, also Teams messages asking me about meetings for last week or today with the directors I look after.

I don't get paid enough to work during my holiday and as my out of office was on why send me a Teams message (it shows on there too) when I'm on holiday?🤷‍♀️

I've spent today going through almost 400 emails and I'm getting chased by people who messaged last week expecting me to have done what they messaged about even though I've been on leave.

I think most people catch up on emails when they get back. Usually takes me 2-3 days to go through and action them all.

Absolutely no reason why someone shouldn't send an email while you are away asking to catch up when you are back, that's normal.

I just got back in the office today from a week's holiday and feel your pain! Luckily I only work part time anyway, so this morning I just started with the oldest email and carried on until it was time to go home. There is a fully functioning phone on my desk so if they really needed my input today on something urgent they could have called me.

I will carry on in the same vein until the backlog is cleared.

This wouldn't bother me but I know I'm under no obligation to do anything while I'm on leave (unless I so choose which I have done from time to time to finish things off). So I would imagine they're asking me to call them back when I can, which is when I'm back. So it wouldn't bother me.

They don't see the out of office till they've sent the email though (we're a small business and don't use teams). Mine redirects them to a group email address if it's really urgent but in practice no one picks up my work when I'm away, they never have done. In my previous job a lot of it was more time-sensitive and had to be covered but not in this one. Just the way it is, I can't say it really bothers me.

"Hi I am on Annual Leave between XX and XX inclusive. Any message you send me, or action you ask me to do, will not be read or actioned during that time. If your request is still relevant when I return on XXX date please email me again or call me if it is more urgent. Many thanks"

They don't get the out of office until after they sent the message. What are they supposed to do, does your OOO explain what they should do with their request in your absence?

Internal staff can see the out of office as it shows up before sending the email.

Just don’t look at your emails and if it’s too late when you get back then it’s too late. Maybe they sent some so they wouldn’t forget with no intention of you getting back to them before you get back.

My OOO says:

I am away until xxxx. I will clear my inbox on my return.
For anything I need to action please contact me again after xxxx.
For anything urgent in my absence please contact yyyy.

I can receive 200+ emails in a week off.
I'm not going through them individually. I'll scan for a thing from key people, but that's it.

Thank you, that is great and I will use that from now on, on my out of office.

That depends who you are dealing with. I’d possibly have that on my internal OOO (not that I need to, we all share one small building and know who’s on holiday) but it would not go down well with customers and suppliers with non-urgent requests that they have to email or call me again rather than me catching up when I get back.

That is a good point.