Out of Office Message Examples: 15 Templates for Every Situation
Out of office message examples you can copy for vacations, holidays, sick days, parental leave, conferences and leaving a job, plus what every auto-reply should include.
4 min read
Quick answer
A good out of office message says when you’re away, when you’ll be back, and who to contact for urgent matters. Keep it to two to four sentences and avoid sharing too many personal details. Set it in Gmail under Settings → Vacation responder, or in Outlook under Automatic replies.
An out of office message (also called an automatic reply or auto-reply) tells people you’re away and what to do in the meantime. It saves everyone from waiting for a reply that isn’t coming.
What to include
- That you’re away, and the dates
- When you’ll be back
- Who to contact for anything urgent, with their email
- Whether you’ll check email (optional)
Out of office message examples
1. Standard
2. Short
3. Vacation
4. Holiday period
5. Sick day
6. Conference or business trip
7. Parental leave
8. Leaving the company
9. Customer-facing
10. Weekend / after hours
11. Friendly / internal
12. Working part-time this week
13. Training day
14. Public holiday
15. Funny (internal only)
How to set an automatic reply
Gmail
- Click the gear icon → See all settings.
- On the General tab, scroll to Vacation responder.
- Turn it on, add your dates, subject and message.
- Click Save Changes.
Outlook (new Outlook and Outlook on the web)
- Go to Settings → Account → Automatic replies.
- Turn on automatic replies and add your message.
- Set the start and end time.
- Click Save.
Frequently asked questions
What should an out of office message say?
The dates you’re away, the date you’ll return, whether you’ll check email, and who to contact for urgent matters.
Should I say why I’m out of the office?
You don’t have to. “I’m out of the office” is enough. A short reason like “on vacation” or “at a conference” is fine, but avoid medical or personal details.
How do I set an out of office message in Gmail?
Open Settings → See all settings → General, turn on the Vacation responder, enter your dates and message, and click Save Changes.
How do I set an out of office message in Outlook?
In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web, go to Settings → Account → Automatic replies, turn them on, add your message and dates, and save.