It’s that time of year again! The holidays are here and most of the companies I work with are closed for the week or working on half power. Nothing wrong there. Heck, I’m officially ‘off’ myself at this moment!
Sending out messages right now is knowing you’ll receive lots of Out-Of-Office notices back. I know, and I expect it. There is one thing though that can really irritate me: The inconsiderate OoO.

Some people seem to think that if they’re gone that all work around them stops too. So messages like “I am out of the office” without any further details can really baffle me. Surely there will be someone that I can reach in case of an emergency?!? Some co-worker or central helpdesk… surely?

So I plead for ran Out of Office etiquette:
1. Put your return date in the message so that I know when to expect you back
2. Put in contact information for a co-worker or central desk that I can reach in case of an emergency
3. Put in any Office closure details so I know the whole company is closed if that is the case

But most importantly…. Don’t forget to activate it. Because the thing that irritates me even more then getting an inconsiderate OoO while you’re on holiday is not getting an OoO message at all…

Happy holidays!