Correspondence Regarding Out of Office Wording

FROM: Person setting up out of office TO: The out of office message RE: Wording

I am writing to inform you that you have been rewritten three times and are still not satisfactory.

Draft one was too brief. It stated the dates and nothing else. Recipients might wonder about the urgency of their message's receipt or whether someone was covering. Draft one was insufficient.

Draft two added context: "I'll have limited access to email." This is true. The phone exists and the hotel will have wifi. "Limited access" preserves the option to check email while communicating that responses will be delayed. This is accurate.

Draft three questioned whether "limited access" was honest. The access is limited only by choice. Technically there is full access. "Limited access" was retained because the alternative, "I could read this but I'm choosing not to," was considered and rejected as too transparent.

Draft four began to add an emergency contact. The emergency contact is a colleague. The colleague has not been asked whether they are available to be the emergency contact during this specific period. Adding their name and email without asking creates a public commitment on their behalf that they have not made.

Draft four was paused.

FROM: The out of office message TO: Person setting up out of office RE: Re: Wording

I am ready to be sent. I contain: the absence dates, a return date, and a note about email access. I do not contain an emergency contact.

People who receive me will know you are away and when you return. This is the information they need.

I will be sent automatically. Please confirm my wording and close the browser tab.

FROM: Person setting up out of office RE: Re: Re: Wording

I'm going to add one more sentence.