Out of office message examples

Thanks for writing in. I'm out of the office until [date] and I'm not checking this inbox while I'm away. If you need something before then, email [colleague] at [[email protected]] and they'll pick it up. Otherwise I'll reply once I'm back. Messages get answered in the order they came in. [Your name]

What to change: Set [date] to the first day you are actually back at your desk, not the last day you are away.

Thanks for your message. I'm away until [date], and on a team our size there's nobody covering my inbox while I'm out. Your email is safe here. I'll work through everything in order when I'm back, so there's no need to send it again. If it genuinely can't wait, put URGENT in the subject line and I'll look for those first on my first morning back. [Your name]

What to change: Keep the URGENT line only if you will really scan for it the morning you return. Delete that paragraph if you won't.

Thanks for getting in touch. I'm out of the office until [date]. Our support inbox is still being watched while I'm away, so the fastest way to get help is to write to [[email protected]]. Whoever is on it that day will pick your message up. If your question is really for me, I'll answer it when I'm back. [Your name]

What to change: Check that someone is genuinely watching [[email protected]] for the whole time you are out before you point customers at it.

Thanks for writing in. I'm back from leave and working through everything that arrived while I was out, oldest message first. I'll get to yours today or tomorrow. If it's already sorted itself out, reply and tell me so I can skip it and get to the next person faster. Thanks for waiting. [Your name]

What to change: Turn this one off the day the backlog is clear. It reads as an excuse after about 48 hours.

Thanks for writing in. We're closed for [holiday name] and we're back on [date]. Your message is in the queue and we'll get to it first thing when we reopen. Nothing gets lost while we're shut. If you want an answer sooner, our help center covers the questions we get most: [help center URL] [Team name]

What to change: Name the holiday and the exact reopening date. Delete the help center line if you don't have one.

Thanks for your email. Our office is closed from [start date] through [end date], and we're back on [return date]. We're not monitoring this inbox over the break. Everything that arrives will be answered in order once we're back, so there's no need to resend. If something is broken and truly cannot wait, [emergency contact] can be reached at [phone or email]. Happy holidays from all of us at [company name].

What to change: Name an emergency contact who has agreed to be reachable, or delete that paragraph rather than publishing a number nobody answers.

Thanks for writing in. We're running on holiday hours until [date]. The office is closed, but one of us checks this inbox each morning. Expect a reply within one business day rather than our usual [normal response time]. Anything that needs the whole team, like [billing changes or account migrations], will wait until we're fully back on [return date]. Thanks for bearing with us. [Team name]

What to change: Fill in your normal response time so the slower one reads as a real difference, and list the requests that genuinely have to wait.

Thanks for writing in. You've reached us outside our support hours. We're open [days] from [start time] to [end time] [timezone]. Your message is already in the queue and we'll reply once we're back online, usually within the first hour. If you're stuck right now, [help center URL] covers the questions we get most. [Team name]

What to change: Spell out your timezone. A customer two timezones away can't guess whether 9am means yours or theirs.

Thanks for your message. We're closed for the weekend and back on Monday at [time] [timezone]. We work through the weekend's messages in the order they arrived, so whoever wrote first hears from us first. No need to send it again. [Team name]

What to change: Change the day and opening time if your week starts somewhere other than Monday morning.

Thanks for getting in touch. It's outside our support hours right now. We're back at [time] [timezone] on [day]. If your [service or store] is down, or you can't get into your account at all, call [phone number] and it will reach someone tonight. For everything else, we'll reply first thing. [Team name]

What to change: Only list a number that rings somewhere at night. An unanswered emergency line is worse than no line at all.

Thanks for writing in. I'm on parental leave until around [date] and I'm not reading this inbox. [Colleague] has taken over my accounts while I'm out. Write to them at [[email protected]] and they'll have what they need, including the history of anything we've worked on together. I'll be in touch when I'm back. [Your name]

What to change: Say "around [date]" rather than giving a firm one. Return dates from parental leave move, and a missed date reads worse than a vague one.

Thanks for your email. I'm on extended leave and I'm not checking messages. [Colleague] is covering my work and can help with anything you'd normally bring to me. You can reach them at [[email protected]] or [phone number]. Thanks for your understanding. [Your name]

What to change: Leave the reason out. "Extended leave" is enough for a customer, and it is the wording you will want if the leave gets longer.

Thanks for writing in. I'm on leave until [date]. While I'm out: Billing and invoices: [colleague A] at [[email protected]] Technical problems and outages: [colleague B] at [[email protected]] Everything else: [[email protected]] They have the context they need, so you won't have to start over. [Your name]

What to change: Match the split to how your team really divides work, and tell each named person they are on this list before you switch it on.

Thanks for writing in. We're getting far more messages than usual right now, so replies are taking longer than we'd like. Expect to hear back within [realistic timeframe] instead of our usual [normal timeframe]. There's no need to follow up. Every message is in the queue and we're working through them in order. If your question is a common one, [help center URL] will be faster than waiting for us. [Team name]

What to change: Put a real number in [realistic timeframe]. If you cannot hit it, promise a longer one and then beat it.

Thanks for getting in touch. We just launched [product or feature] and the inbox is busier than normal. We're answering everything, it's just slower than usual this week. If you're writing about [product or feature], [changelog or help center URL] covers what changed and the first questions people asked. We expect to be back to normal speed by [date]. [Team name]

What to change: Link to the page that actually answers launch questions, and take this message down on [date] whether or not the queue is clear.

Thanks for your email. Most of our team is at [event name] this week, so we're slower than usual until [date]. We're still checking this inbox once a day. If something can't wait, write to [[email protected]] with URGENT in the subject and we'll pull it forward. Back to normal on [date]. [Team name]

What to change: Set the return date to the day after travel, not the last day of the event. Nobody answers email on the flight home.