A good out of office message answers three questions: when you are away, when you are planning to be back, and who to contact in the meantime. Write yours with the generator above, or copy an example below.

Simple out of office messages

  • Thank you for your email. I am out of the office until [date] with limited access to email. I plan to reply when I'm back.
  • I am away until [date]. For anything urgent, please contact [name] at [email].
  • Thanks for your message. I am out of the office until [date] and plan to get back to you then.

Holiday out of office messages

  • Thank you for your email. I am on holiday until [date] and not checking email. For urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email].
  • I am on annual leave and plan to be back on [date]. Emails are not being forwarded, so please resend yours after that date if it is still relevant.
  • Hello, I am away on holiday until [date]. [Name] is covering for me and can help at [email].

Sick leave

  • I am out of the office due to illness and plan to reply when I am back. For anything urgent, please contact [name] at [email].
  • Thank you for your message. I am currently away and do not have a return date yet. Please contact [name] at [email] in the meantime.

Parental leave

  • I am on parental leave until [date]. For anything related to [project], please contact [name] at [email].
  • Thank you for your email. I am on leave and not checking messages. [Name] at [email] is covering my work.

Last day at the company

  • Thank you for your email. I have left [company], and this inbox is no longer monitored. Please contact [name] at [email].

How to set up an out of office message in Outlook

In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web:

  1. Go to View, then View settings.
  2. Select Accounts, then Automatic replies.
  3. Turn on Automatic replies.
  4. To set dates, select Send replies only during a time period and choose the start and end times.
  5. Write your message. With a work or school account, you can write one reply for people inside your organization and another for people outside it.
  6. Select Save.

Automatic replies in Outlook are not available for Gmail, or other POP and IMAP accounts added to Outlook. Use your email provider's own settings for those.

How to set up an out of office message in Gmail

Gmail calls it the vacation responder.

  1. Open Gmail on a computer and select Settings, then See all settings.
  2. On the General tab, scroll to Vacation responder and select Vacation responder on.
  3. Set the first day and, optionally, the last day.
  4. Enter a subject and your message.
  5. To reply only to people in your contacts, check that box.
  6. Select Save Changes.

The responder starts at 12:00 AM on the start date and ends at 11:59 PM on the end date. It usually replies once to each sender, and replies again if they write after four days or after you edit your message.

Tips for an out of office message

  1. Give your expected return date, not only "next week".
  2. Name one backup contact with an email address.
  3. Do not overshare. "On leave" is enough. You do not need to say where you are or why.
  4. Keep the external version shorter than the internal one.
  5. Turn it off when you are back, or set an end date so it switches off by itself.