Unplugged
Out of Office, AutoReply: Sorry I will be out of the office this week. In an emergency you can contact…… Away messages bug me. Away from what? Aren’t most of us away from our desks all the time? If we aren’t maybe we should be! Who doesn’t get emails remotely these days? I don’t need to know that you are traveling this week. I assume that you are not sitting at your desk waiting for an email but out at meetings and visiting with customers. You will get back to me when you can.
OK. If you are on a personal vacation and need to disconnect or overseas and unable to receive emails it makes sense to let people know that you will not be able to respond while you are away. But most away messages seem to just provide notification that you will not be sitting behind your desktop computer for the next few days. Come on, we all know perfectly well that you will still receive emails on a remote computer, a laptop, or on a PDA. Why tell us that you are away.
I find that quick responders are just as responsive when they travel and slow responders are just as slow when they are away. I suspect many people leave an out of office message to manage expectations because they want the time away from the incessant drumbeat of emails, text messages, and twitter streams. I understand that. Sometimes you need to disconnect in order to reconnect.
A few vacation days away recently reminded me of the important perspective gained from disconnecting. I didn’t leave an away message before leaving and while I left my laptop at home I did bring my iPhone, which allowed me to check important emails and Red Sox scores. While I could have stayed connected to my Twitter stream on the iPhone I made a conscious decision (alright my wife insisted) that I disconnect cold turkey for the few days I was away.
I enjoyed the respite from the cacophony of an over-connected and always-on life. I thought a lot about what it means to live in a networked world where communication channels travel wherever you go and filtering becomes an important personal decision. I am excited by the possibilities created by ubiquitous connectivity and personally experimenting with the right mix of channels and the right balance of being connected and finding time to disconnect. The capacity to disconnect is important but can’t we come up with a more honest and genuine approach than a lame away message?
On a related note, I’m also struck by people who feel compelled to point out that they will be “out of the country” as if it’s any harder to check email outside the U.S!
Being “out of the office” and “away from my desk” are 2 very different phrases. Yes, when at the office, we may not always be at our desk, but we are there to respond within the same day (for those of us who actually care). If we are out of the office, we may not necessarily respond. Sure, people have Blackberries and laptops, but generally if they are out of the office, even on business, they are at some event.
An example: I am leaving for a conference in MN next week. During the conference, I leave my laptop in my room. I check my email during the down time. Normally, I am always at my desk with my email in front of me. People email me with problems. While I will still read their email from the conference, it may not be until after they have left the office (especially since I’ll be changing timezones). So my out of office (since I am out of the office) message says that I may not be reading email right away and suggests some email addresses and phone number for those who need immediate assistance.
Then there’s the actual vacation. You know what? If I’m on vacation, I’m not expected to check my email and will generally abide by that. So my message says that I won’t be checking email. Sometimes when I go on vacation, I do disconnect myself from the world (with the exception of my cell phone, which does nothing but text messaging and phone calls). It’s not necessarily because I want to (though I often do), but rather because I go camping or somewhere I don’t have wifi.
I’m with Jim. When I’m away from the office for personal reasons, I try not to go anywhere near my office email. The alternate contact folks to whom people are directed know how to contact me right away if it really is essential. And if the person sending the email is someone who is likely to have need for immediate contact, they have my cell number.
So which is worse — an “Away” message or making someone wait a week to hear from you without knowing why?
Saul, you raise a really good point. I have thought about this very question the last couple times I travelled. Your blog article convinced me that it’s okay if I never leave another OOF message again. Thanks!
The hyper-connectivity we have lead many, many of us, to expectations of getting a response RIGHT NOW/RIGHT AWAY. The assumption is that since we are always “on”, there shouldn’t be any reasons why it would take any longer than a few minutes, at most 10, to craft a reply, whether text or email. Maybe it’s actually this expectation that is partially the cause of the OOF today –> they are just guarding themselves against the question of “Why did it take you 15 minutes to get back to me?”. I’m a pretty prompt responder, but sometimes while in transit, it’s just not a possibility. Just a thought….
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.