What should an out of office message say?
The dates you are away, the date you are back and checking email again, whether you will read anything in between, and one named person for anything urgent with their email address. That is the whole job. Leave out the reason unless it is a public holiday everyone shares, keep it under six lines, and switch it on the evening before you leave so late emails get the reply.
Template 1: annual leave, fully offline
Use this for a proper holiday where you will not read email at all.
Hello,
I am on leave from [start date] to [end date] and not reading email. I will reply when I am back on [return date].
For anything urgent, please contact [Name] at [email]. For [specific area, for example invoices or hiring], [Name 2] at [email] can help.
If it can wait, no action needed; I will come back to you after [return date].
Thanks,
[Your name]
Template 2: Diwali or another festival break
Use this when your whole office is closed and the people emailing you may be abroad and unaware.
Hello,
Our office is closed for Diwali from [start date] to [end date]. I will be back on [return date] and will reply to emails in the order they arrived.
If you are writing from outside India: this is a national festival week, so replies across our team will be slower than usual until [date].
For anything that cannot wait, [Name] at [email] is covering, and will respond within one working day.
Happy Diwali,
[Your name]
Template 3: short trip with limited email
Use this for conferences, travel days or a short break where you will read email once a day but not reply to everything.
Hi,
I am travelling from [start date] to [end date] and checking email once a day, [morning / evening] IST. Expect a delay of a day or so on anything non-urgent.
If it is urgent, put URGENT in the subject line and I will see it on the next check, or reach [Name] at [email].
Back to normal on [return date].
[Your name]
Template 4: sick leave, return date unknown
Use this when you are unwell and do not want to commit to a date you may not keep.
Hello,
I am away from work unexpectedly and have limited access to email. I will reply as soon as I am back and will update this message when I know the date.
In the meantime, [Name] at [email] is covering my work and can help with anything time-sensitive.
Thank you for your patience.
[Your name]
Template 5: long absence, such as parental leave
Use this for an absence of weeks or months, where the sender needs a new contact rather than a wait.
Hello,
I am on [parental / extended] leave from [start date] and expect to return in [month, year]. I will not be reading email during this time, and messages will not be forwarded.
Please direct anything about [area 1] to [Name] at [email], and anything about [area 2] to [Name 2] at [email]. For everything else, [team inbox] is the best starting point.
If you need me specifically, please write again after [return month] and I will pick it up then.
Best wishes,
[Your name]
What to change before you send
An auto reply goes to everyone, including people you did not expect. Check these before you switch it on.
- Name a real covering person who has agreed to it, and tell them what to expect. An unbriefed backup is worse than none.
- Give the date you will actually reply, not the date you land. Add a day if you are coming back to a full inbox.
- Set the end date in Gmail's vacation responder so it switches itself off. A stale "back on the 12th" on the 20th is embarrassing.
- Decide whether the reply goes to everyone or only to contacts and your organisation. Gmail offers both; a public reply tells strangers your house is empty.
- Remove phone numbers unless you want to be called. The auto reply reaches cold senders too.
- If you handle external clients, write their time zone next to yours in the return date, since "Monday" is a different day in San Francisco.
What not to put in an out of office message
Do not write where you are going or who you are with. The message reaches every sender, including people you have never met. Do not promise to "respond as soon as I return" if you will need two days to clear the backlog; say the real date. Do not use it as a marketing slot or add a joke you would not want quoted in a client's forwarded email.
If you want some email to keep moving while you are out, set up a Gmail filter that forwards messages from specific senders to your covering person. The auto reply tells people you are away; the filter makes sure the important ones are not waiting on you. Inbox triage covers how to sort the rest when you are back.
Let Momo AI do the thread
Coming back is the hard part. Momo AI's morning brief lists what piled up while you were out: who needs a reply, who owes you one, what you promised before you left and today's meetings, with replies already drafted in your voice in Gmail Drafts. You read the brief, tap Send on the ones that are right and nothing goes out without you. See follow-up tracking for the threads that went quiet while you were away.
