Here’s how your out-of-office message could ruin your career if you do it wrong
It's that time of the year when you have to write a message to tell people you're on holiday but make sure you do it right
EVERYONE needs a break from work every now and then.
But before you dash out of the office to pack your bags for your summer holidays, you can’t forget your out-of-office e-mail response.
“Technology keeps us connected 24/7, and people want information now, not days from now. You need to [live up to those] expectations with an out-of-office response,” says Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0.
Here, we examine four out-of-office message strategies, and the experts weigh in on the pros and cons of each.
THE STRATEGY: NO OUT-OF-OFFICE MESSAGE
When he headed off for a holiday to Los Angeles last April, Dave Donars — who heads strategy and research at Cardwell Beach, an advertising agency in Brooklyn — didn’t bother setting up an automated e-mail responder before he left.
“People who really need to reach me can find another way,” says the 36-year-old Washington Heights resident, who currently boasts 28,868 unread messages in his inbox.
The verdict: Mr Donars’ outlook appals personal productivity expert Peggy Duncan. “When people take the time to write a valid e-mail and you don’t read it or respond, you’re holding them up,” says the author of Conquer e-mail Overload With Better Habits, Etiquette and Outlook.
It’s your responsibility to set up some kind of automated reply to the legitimate people who send you e-mails in your absence, so they know not to expect an immediate response. “Otherwise, you’re being rude,” says Duncan.
THE STRATEGY: AWAY, BUT AVAILABLE
Charles Bonello, co-founder and managing director of start-up Grand Central Tech, always sets up a note that indicates he’s on holiday, the date he will return, whom to contact in an emergency, and that he will be checking his messages “infrequently.”
The 30-year-old admits this strategy has its drawbacks. “Sure, my wife might complain that we’re on vacation and I’m stuck on my phone, but I’m incapable of doing anything else.”
The verdict: It’s only a little better than saying nothing — indicating that you’ll be checking messages “infrequently” is too vague. “You can say once a day, every other day, whatever, but you need to be specific,” says Schawbel.
THE STRATEGY: INFORMATION OVERLOAD
Cute out-of-office messages are the speciality of Jackie Siqueiros, director of people at Zocdoc in Soho. Her most recent came in the form of a poem: “I’m leaving my laptop behind, to focus on resting my mind. Turks and Caicos is where I’ll land for lots of sun, beach, sleep and sand.”
The 35-year-old New Yorker also provides instructions on whom to contact for various needs and notes when she’ll be back.
The verdict: Schawbel gives Ms Siqueiros high marks, provided that the co-workers she redirects her contact list to are aware she is doing so beforehand. Duncan, on the other hand, feels that Ms Siqueiros shouldn’t tell everyone where she’ll be.
“They don’t need that information, it’s not helpful to them. And who knows what they’ll do? They could come looking for you,” she says.
THE STRATEGY: PURGE ALL E-MAILS
In 2014, German auto manufacturer Daimler made headlines after allowing employees to delete all e-mails they received while they were on holiday. Their auto-responses read something like this: “Thank you for your e-mail. I am out the office until [date]. If you need help, contact [name]. This e-mail will be deleted.”
Other companies have since made the purge strategy available, and individual employees looking to skip reading thousands of unread messages are adopting the policy, too.
The verdict: Schawbel says this is a horrible idea. “It’s selfish and shows complete disrespect and disregard for the sender and the time [he or she] put into the e-mail.”
It can also be interpreted as lazy.
“Things go two ways,” says Schawbel. “Think about how you would you feel about your peers if they deleted your e-mails unread?
"You might never send them another one. Even if your company says it’s OK, you shouldn’t do it. You could sabotage your career.”