The 46 Very Best Out-of-Office Messages for Any Circumstance

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Is there anything more stressful than trying to enjoy time off while worrying about the emails zooming into your inbox?

Many of us find ourselves checking our work email constantly, even when we are technically on sick leave or on a hard-earned vacation. 

One of the best ways to make the most of your time off is to know that all your professional bases are covered. 

By setting an autoreply out-of-office message that informs everyone who writes to you that you won’t be getting back to them until a certain date, you’ll buy yourself peace of mind.

Knowing that no one is expecting a response from you immediately means you won’t feel obligated to check your messages.

You’ll be able to recover, enjoy yourself, or learn material at a training course without worrying that you’ve missed something.

 

Best tips on how to write an out-of-office message

When writing an out-of-office message, it is important that you keep your tone professional. 

Consider everyone who might be receiving your message and ensure that your autoreply is appropriate for them to read. 

You should also double check that your message contains all the necessary information before you set it.

Below is a list of what needs to be in an out-of-office message.

 

What needs to be included in an out-of-office message

1. A subject line
2. A greeting
3. Thank the sender for their email
4. State that you are currently “out-of-office”
5. Give your out-of-office dates
6. Provide the reason for your temporary absence 
7. Inform the sender that you will get back to them ASAP
8. Provide a person to contact for urgent matters
9. Thank the sender for their understanding 

 

 

1. A subject line

Including a subject line allows the person who has contacted you to know that you are unavailable immediately. 

As soon as the autoreply is triggered, they’ll receive a notification with a subject that reads something along the lines of, “Out of Office: Maternity Leave,” or “Out of Office: June 4–7, 2024.” Don’t forget to set a subject line as your email will look unprofessional without it. 

 

2. A greeting

You do not necessarily need to greet people in an OOO auto-response. However, it does add a friendly touch. Some good examples of OOO email greetings include, “Hello,” “Hi,” “To whom it may concern,” “Dear Sir/Madam,” and “Good day.”

 

3. Thank the sender for their email 

Whenever you reply to an email, you should say “thank you for your email” or an alternative. 

More than anything else, expressing gratitude to someone for reaching out is just a way of showing good will toward them. It establishes that you are both starting your interaction from a friendly place. 

 

4. State that you are currently “out-of-office”

The purpose of an out-of-office email is to let anyone who tries to contact you know that you are not available.

Get to this part early on in your email, as soon as you have finished the formalities of greeting and thanking the sender. 

There are a wide variety of ways you could phrase this, including, “I am currently out of the office,” “I will be out of the office from…”, “I am on annual leave until…”, “I am on a business trip,” “I am at a conference,” and so on. 

 

5. Give your out-of-office dates

This is a crucial part of any out-of-office email. Make sure that you provide the dates on which you will be unavailable. Without this information, your email is not very helpful. 

If your time of absence is open-ended and you haven’t settled on a return date yet, you can say that you are going to be out-of-office “for the foreseeable future,” or “on an ongoing basis.”

 

6. Provide the reason for your temporary absence 

Whether you are setting an out-of-office autoreply because you are going on vacation, are taking sick leave, or are taking time off work for personal reasons, you should give some justification for your absence. 

If a client or colleague has come to depend on you to perform a role in their workflow, it would be bad practice to simply disappear on them. 

You do not have to give specific, personal details if you are taking time off work for a family emergency or for medical reasons.

However, simply saying, “for personal reasons,” is enough to help people understand why you are suddenly no longer available. 

 

7. Inform the sender that you will get back to them ASAP

You do not have to guarantee a specific date by which you will reply to the people who have tried to contact you during your time off work. 

However, reassuring the people who write to you that you will make it a priority to get back to them once you are back to business as usual will prevent them from feeling neglected. 

 

8. Provide a person to contact for urgent matters

While most people are probably happy to wait a few days to hear back from you, someone may get in touch regarding a pressing issue that they need immediate assistance with. 

Providing the contact details of a colleague whom the person writing to you can email if they need a speedy answer will make sure they aren’t left in the lurch just because you aren’t at work. 

Providing a colleague’s details will also take the pressure off you to check your emails during your time off. 

 

9. Thank the sender for their understanding 

This is an optional step, but it never hurts to be as friendly as possible in your professional correspondence. Politely thanking the person writing to you for their understanding is a great way to round off an out-of-office email. 

While you could also say, “sorry for the inconvenience” or an alternative, you may want to stay away from apologizing when you haven’t done anything wrong. After all, business is ultimately a game, and you don’t want to be too deferential because you will make yourself appear less confident. 

However, if you had promised to be available and suddenly aren’t because of an unexpected change in your personal circumstances, it might be appropriate to say, “I apologize for the inconvenience” or similar at the end of your out-of-office message.

 

Out-of-office messages for holidays and vacations 

We all hear a lot about the importance of having a healthy work–life balance. Finding time to switch off from your professional obligations is crucial for avoiding burnout. 

If your brain is always thinking ahead and planning your next professional move, you may find yourself feeling stressed and anxious.

And those feelings are ultimately bad for productivity. 

So, to keep yourself as sharp as you can, you need to ensure you’re taking your vacation days and using them to totally relax. 

Before setting off to the beach or mountains (or whatever your preferred holiday destination is), set an out-of-office (also known as an OOO) autoreply. An OOO autoreply is basically just another way of saying, “well received” in email writing in that it acknowledges that the email has entered your inbox.  

Make sure your message informs anyone who sends you an email that you are on holiday and won’t be available until you return. Give your return date to avoid any potential confusion. 
 

Example 1: Out-of-office message for a long vacation 

 

Example 2: Out-of-office message for a short vacation

 

Example 3: Out-of-office message for a vacation if your emails are being forwarded

 

Out-of-office messages for annual leave

Annual leave is paid time off work that each employee is guaranteed by their employer. 

If you are taking your annual leave days, make sure you set an autoreply informing anyone who tries to contact you that you won’t be responding to work-related correspondence during your time off. 

If you’re wondering what the difference is between an out-of-office message for annual leave and an out-of-office message for a vacation, there isn’t a big one.

However, being on vacation often implies actually going somewhere that isn’t your home to spend your time off. 

As long as you get your dates approved in advance, you can take annual leave for any reason whatsoever…even if that means using it to work on your garden at home or just sitting on your sofa. 

You might be thinking about the fact that your OOO message will be being automatically sent to anyone who reaches out to you. 

If you don’t want to give away too much information about your holiday plans, you can opt to preserve your privacy by giving the reason for your absence from work as “annual leave.” 
 

Example 4: Out-of-office message for annual leave (formal)

 

Example 5: Out-of-office message for annual leave (informal) 

 

Out-of-office messages for one day 

You might wonder what the point of putting up an out-of-office message for one day is. After all, you’ll be back to checking your email again as you normally would on the following day. 

However, you’ll probably enjoy your day off much more if you know that you won’t be expected to respond to messages. 

You never know when you might get an email that demands your immediate attention.

And wouldn’t it be just your luck to get an email with the subject line “URGENT: Action Required” on the very day that you aren’t checking your inbox. 

It is important to remember that out-of-office messages are as much a courtesy to the people writing to us as they are beneficial for ourselves.

If someone needs something done urgently, you are doing them a favor by immediately finding a way to professionally say, “I’m giving you a heads up” that you aren’t available. 

This saves them the time they would have wasted waiting for you to get back to them and allows them to look for an alternative solution straight away. 
 

Example 6: Out-of-office message for one day (personal reasons)

 

Example 7: Out-of-office message for one day (annual leave)

 

Out-of-office messages for training 

If you are attending a professional training, you can include the details of the program you’re doing in your out-of-office message. 

This allows your message to perform two functions.

First, it lets people know that you won’t be able to respond to them right away. 

Second, it lets anyone contacting you in a professional capacity know that you are ambitious and are somehow who is dedicated to improving their knowledge of the field. 

Demonstrating a commitment to your profession, whatever that might be, will inspire clients and colleagues to view you as a go-getter, which is certainly a good thing. 

Being up to date on current trends and developments in your field is important.

We would also find it comforting to know that the person we’re putting our trust in to complete a task or project out on our behalf is aware of current best practices. 

For this reason, don’t shy away from setting out exactly what you are doing in your out-of-office message. 
 

Example 8: Out-of-office message when attending a one-day training 

 

Example 9: Out-of-office message for a workplace professional development day 

 

Out-of-office messages for attending a meeting

If you will be attending an all-day meeting, you might want to put an out-of-office autoreply in place.

Depending on your line of work and the frequency with which you receive emails, you’ll know whether this is necessary. 

The advantage of setting up an autoreply if you are going to be in a long meeting is that you don’t have to worry about what you’re missing. 

You can give your full attention to the people in front of you and the task at hand, without feeling tempted to leave the room quickly to check your incoming emails. 

Plus, notifying people that you won’t be available that day allows them to source an answer or solution from someone else without waiting around in hopes you’ll respond. 

Planning and setting an out-of-office autoreply prevents you from having to put out fires, so-to-speak, if you receive an email that requires urgent attention during your meeting.

It is always better to be upfront about your availability and expressing “thank you for reaching out to me” will make an email’s sender feel seen without you having to do anything. 

Having an autoreply in place saves you having to respond to an unhappy customer email down the line (or worse yet, responding to a bad google review), which can occur when someone who has hired you feels that they are being ignored. 

 

Example 10: Out-of-office message when attending an all-day meeting 

 

Norman Abiola 

 

Example 11: Out-of-office message when attending a morning meeting 

 

Example 12: Out-of-office message when you have a day of meetings

 

Out of office messages for medical leave

Receiving a serious medical diagnosis is never easy. When our health is suffering, it can be hard to appropriately manage our commitments to work. 

If you need to take medical leave to undergo a treatment or procedure, you’ll need to let anyone who tries to contact you for professional reasons know that you are unavailable. 

How much you do or don’t share in your out-of-office message is entirely up to you. 

There is no obligation to provide details about what kind of medical leave you are taking.

You can keep things formal and straightforward by simply saying, “I am on medical leave.” 

However, if you work in a more informal environment and field and don’t mind specifying why you are on leave, you could do so.

That said, beware of oversharing. 

OOO messages will be sent out to anyone who contacts you, so you’ll want to phrase your auto-response with this fact in mind. 

 

Example 13: Out of office message for medical leave (formal) 

 

Example 14: Out-of-office message for medical leave (informal) 

 

Out-of-office messages for sick leave

Medical leave implies a serious course of treatment or a surgical procedure.

If you are out of work because you have a virus, infection, or just aren’t feeling well, you should call it “sick leave” in your out-of-office autoreply. 

Why do you have to set an out-of-office message for being sick, you ask? 

Well, if your emailing habits are going to deviate from the norm for any reason, it’s important to let people know about it. 

At the end of the day, your clients won’t care whether you are not replying to them because you are on a beach in Hawaii or at home in bed; they just want to know whether you are available. 

When crafting an out-of-office message because you have taken a sick day from work, don’t go into too much detail.

The message you need to communicate is that you won’t be contactable. 
 

Example 15: How to write an out of office message using the phrase “not keeping well” 

 

Example 16: How to write an out-of-office message using the phrase “not feeling well”

 

Out-of-office message for attending conference

As with attending a training day, mentioning that you are unavailable because you are attending a conference only adds to your professional credibility. 

You should include the name of the conference you are at in your out-of-office message.

This will be of interest to many of the people writing to you. 

For one thing, they may be attending the same conference and could suggest meeting up in person.

Even if they aren’t, they’ll probably find it interesting to know what your professional schedule looks like. 

Even if the conference is one that a recipient of your autoreply hasn’t heard of before, they can always look it up. 

Including the name of the conference you are attending also lends credibility to your claim to be unavailable. 

Any time that you can’t respond to emails, no matter how valid your reason, can count against you. 

In order to make sure your lack of availability is received in the best possible light, it is a good idea to be as transparent as possible about your reasons for being out of office.

After all, it is important that your clients and colleagues know they can depend on you.

 

Example 17: Out-of-office message for attending an academic conference 

 

Example 18: Out-of-office message for attending a day-conference

 

Example 19: Out-of-office message for attending a multi-day conference 

 

Out-of-office message for a business trip 

Responding to emails while travelling is stressful. 

If you are about to jet off on a business trip that will involve airport waits, layovers, hotel check-ins, taxi rides, and any number of meetings and professional obligations, set up an OOO. 

Even if you think you’ll be able to handle your normal level of correspondence while on the go, you never know what urgent business might crop up unexpectedly. 

Save yourself the stress of trying to hotspot yourself in the back of a taxi to your hotel by simply setting up an autoreply informing clients and colleagues that you aren’t available.

The wonderful thing about an out-of-office message is that you can still respond to the emails you receive as and when you want.

It gives you the freedom to reply to the people you want to reply to and to leave the emails you don’t want to respond to for another time. 

This allows you to ignore the people you don’t have to time write back to without feeling guilty. 

If you’d like to set up an out-of-office message for a business trip but aren’t sure how to phrase why you aren’t available, check out these possible OOOs. 

You can also check out this handy guide on whether to say “traveling on business” or “travelling for business,” to make sure you hit just the right note. 

 

Example 20: Out-of-office message for an overseas business trip 

 

Example 21 : Out-of-office message for a domestic business trip 

 

Example 22: Out-of-office message for a business trip (formal) 

 

Out-of-office message for maternity leave

Most women continue working until they are 32–34 weeks into their pregnancies. 

Between becoming pregnant and leaving the office to take maternity leave, women have plenty of time to plan for their career breaks. 

This means that they will generally have handed over most of their responsibilities by the time they leave the office.

Depending on the kind of work a woman does, she may also have a replacement coming in to cover for her.

Generally speaking, if you are a woman who works with specific clients, you will have informed them that you are pregnant and will be taking maternity leave soon. 

However, if a client only deals with you every now and again, or just, understandably, hasn’t noted down the date you’ve told them, they may reach out to even once you are on maternity leave. 

Furthermore, your contact details may have been passed on to a potential new client by a former client who doesn’t know that you are pregnant.

It is therefore vital to put up an OOO. 

If you aren’t quite sure how to phrase the news that you are about to give birth and will not be working for a while, you can check out these sample maternity-leave out-of-office messages.

If you are a father who will be taking leave off work, you can use these out-of-office messages simply by changing the term “maternity leave” to “paternity leave” or “parental leave.” 
 

Example 23: Out-of-office message for maternity leave with a return date 

 

Example 24: Out-of-office message for maternity leave with no return date

 

Example 25: Out-of-office message for maternity leave if checking emails 

 

Example 26: Out-of-office message for parental leave 

 

Out-of-office messages for Christmas 

Most people assume that people won’t be getting back to them straight away during regional or national holidays or during the winter festive period. 

Whatever your customs or religious practices are, you deserve to celebrate them in peace with your family and friends.

You don’t need to let yourself get distracted by pesky work emails during your Christmas dinner, when lighting the menorah during Hannukah, or when sitting down for a feast on Eid al-Fitr.  

Christmas is one of the most-celebrated events in America.

Even if people don’t celebrate it for religious reasons, they tend to celebrate it culturally. I mean, who doesn’t love Santa?

That said, when setting an out-of-office message during the Christmas period, you should be sensitive to the fact that people from a wide variety of backgrounds and with diverse beliefs may contact you. 

You should therefore set an out-of-office message that doesn’t appear to be exclusively directed at people who practice the Christian faith.

That said, there is no reason you can’t include the phrase “Merry Christmas!” in your OOO. 

After all, you celebrate Christmas, and you are simply expressing your excitement for the holiday and a desire to share this celebratory spirit with others. 

Here are some wonderful, festive, out-of-office messages for Christmas that are as inclusive as they are merry. 

 

Example 27: Out-of-office message wishing, “merry Christmas!”

 

Example 28: Out-of-office message wishing, “happy holidays!”

 

Example 29: Out-of-office message wishing a “happy festive season!”

 

Example 30: Out-of-office message wishing a “happy new year!” 

 

Out-of-office messages when leaving a company

 

Some stints at a company end in complete harmony, whereas other exits can be rockier and more difficult to navigate. 

Whatever your final months at your workplace have been like, you should keep your out-of-office autoreply as neutral and professional as possible.

There is no need to provide the reason for your departure in your out-of-office message. 

Instead, keep things simple. Inform the person contacting you that you no longer work for where you used to.

Give your date of departure. 

Follow this up by providing the contact details of someone currently working at the company whom the sender can address their concerns to. 
 

Example 31: Out-of-office message when leaving a company

 

Example 32: Out-of-office message when leaving a company after a long time 

 

Example 33: Out-of-office message when leaving a company (informal)

 

Out-of-office message with no return date

There are a variety of circumstances that might lead you to be absent from work without a fixed date of return. 

Perhaps you are on maternity leave and haven’t committed to going back to work yet.

Or perhaps you are dealing with a medical issue and your return to the office depends on the success of your treatment. 

You might also be dealing with a family emergency and have recently had to work out how to write a temporary resignation letter so that you could go care for a relative.  

As much as we might wish for our lives to be well-ordered and to run according to schedule, they don’t.

Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances can end up disrupting even the best-laid plans. 

Many employers give their employees paid time off to process grief, and would say things like, “take as much time as you need” as a way to say, “sorry for your loss.”

Whatever the circumstances that have led you to be off work with no fixed date of return, you’ll need to write an out-of-office message.

After all, it is crucial that you let the people reaching out to you in a professional capacity know you aren’t available. 

See below for some sample out-of-office messages when you have no return date.  
 

Example 34: Out-of-office message with no return date (sick leave) 

 

Example 35: Out-of-office message with no return date (maternity leave)

 

Example 36: Out-of-office message with no return date (personal reasons)

 

Example 37: Out-of-office message with no return date (continuing education)

 

Out-of-office message “No access to email or phone” 

Anyone who is into the outdoors or travel is familiar with having no access to email or phone signal. 

While being completely uncontactable can be a liberating experience, it does make it impossible to take time off work while still keeping half an eye on things. 

However, for anyone who feels most alive in remote mountains and valleys, or exploring distant countries, being completely cut off from communication is a necessary sacrifice. 

At the end of the day, the point of time off is that you can do what you want with it.

Your annual leave days are not really days of “leave” if you are still tailoring your behavior to meet workplace demands. 

That said, if you are going to be entirely off-the-grid during your out-of-office stint, you should make sure that you have informed the appropriate people of your situation. 

This includes letting your colleagues know that you are not going to be around to answer questions in an emergency.

It also means setting an out-of-office message that clarifies that you won’t have access to the standard forms of communication. 

Many people include that they will be checking their email every few days in their out-of-office messages.

In fact, so many people do this that it is becoming almost an expectation that people will still be dipping in and out of their work inbox, even while they are technically enjoying time off. 

Unfortunately, this means that the impetus is on those of us who will have no access to our emails and phones whatsoever to clarify this. 

As a rule, informing people why you will have no access is a good idea.

After all, if you don’t provide a reason why you’ll be unable to use email or your phone, they may think you are just trying to avoid your work. 

Here are a few sample out-of-office messages for when you won’t have access to your email or phone during your time off. 
 

Example 38: Out-of-office message when you have no access to email or phone (hiking) 

 

Example 39: Out-of-office message when you have no access to email or phone (travelling) 

 

Example 40: Out-of-office message when you have no access to email or phone (retreat) 

 

Out-of-office message: Not checking Email

Now, you don’t have to be in the middle of a jungle or on top of a mountain to justify not checking your email when you are on vacation. 

In fact, you are completely entitled to choose to make yourself uncontactable, even though you technically have access to the internet and cell-phone service. 

You might also not be checking your email when at a conference, because you want to make the most of the experience and avoid being tied to your phone. 

Networking is a key part of academic conferences and conventions; if you’re tied to your phone, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to make promising professional connections. 

Here are a few sample out-of-office messages that make it clear to anyone trying to contact you that you will not be checking your email. 
 

Example 41: Out-of-office message when not checking your email on vacation

 

Example 42: Out-of-office message when not checking your email at a conference 

 

Funny out-of-office messages 

Different areas of work require different levels of formality in their written correspondence. 

While it might feel strange to think of an out-of-office message as a piece of correspondence because you aren’t directing it to a specific person and clicking send, it is. 

If you work in a field that requires a high degree of professionalism, you might want to stay away from writing funny out-of-office messages. 

However, if your workplace is more informal, a funny out-of-office message may give the people reaching out to you a healthy, harmless chuckle. 

Before setting a funny out-of-office message, make sure that you have thought of every possible eventuality in terms of who might write to you and receive your message. 

Don’t just think about your colleagues whom you are close to receiving your humorous autoreply.

Instead, consider a potential client looking to hire you for the first time. What impression will your words make on them? 

That said, if your line of work isn’t all too serious, a funny out-of-office message may just make an interested potential client want to work with you more.

Many people prefer to work with professionals who know how to bring the human side to business. 

Wondering what a funny out-of-office message might look like? You can take inspiration from these sample messages.
 

Example 43: Funny out-of-office message (vacation)

 

Example 44: Funny out-of-office message (sick leave)

 

Example 45: Funny out-of-office message (maternity leave)

 

Example 46: Funny out-of-office message (continuing education)