The Out-of-Office Email You Should Be Using

A holiday weekend often presents the perfect opportunity to take a longer vacation, by extending it a few days. But sometimes getting away can be more stressful than relaxing, especially when the end of summer and early fall are a busy season for many businesses.

While most people know that it’s imperative to plan ahead for a vacation, delegate work, and finish up projects, they often postpone creating an out-of-office email until the very last moment. However, it's important to put some thought into this email, as it tells everyone who's trying to contact you—from your boss to potential clients—when they should expect to get a response from you.

For a standard email, follow this template:

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am currently on vacation and will be out of the office until [date].

I will get back to you upon my return. If you require immediate assistance, please reach out to [name] at [email].

Sending you wishes for a lovely long weekend!

All the best,

[Your Name]

This is a great general email that works for many different industries. If you plan to check your email periodically, you might modify this template:

I will be checking my email [once a day/week/occasionally] while I’m away and will respond to all urgent inquiries. For all other emails, I will get back to you upon my return.

However, if you find yourself bombarded with emails or even calls, there are many ways to state that you will be fully disconnecting from your email during your vacation. With shorter sentence structure and more to-the-point phrases, your message will be firm.

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will not be checking my email until [date]. Upon my return, I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

If you require immediate assistance, please send an email to [name] at [email] with the subject as “URGENT: [insert topic of inquiry]”

Thank you for respecting my need to unplug during this time.

All the best,

[Your Name]