Q: What do your out of office emails say during winter break?
I ask because I'm never quite sure what to write. I've often been tempted to leave a blurb to the effect of, "It's break. I'm out," but I don't think that'll go over well if my chair or other admin tries to contact me. I've also thought I'd like to write, "If this is about your grade for the semester, I might reply at the beginning of the spring semester. If it's about anything else, I'll get back to you in a week or so," but I don't think that works either.
Just don't.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing worse than the auto-respond "out of office" message.
Unless you are out of the office for over a month, don't bother. I assume it will take most of my colleagues a week or two to get back to me; most of us in general will not go the entire length of break avoiding emails. So why give every single person the bounce-back message?
Just stop. Get back to them in early January. You're fine.
I agree with Academic Monkey. I have never used an out-of-office email.
ReplyDeleteI check my email pretty regularly, whether it's during the semester or during the breaks. If something is important enough to deserve a reply, I'll take the time to reply, and if it is some form of snowflakery I'll reply with a canned response, or ignore it altogether.
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, I used to read and answer e-mail from the office while on vacation. Silly boy.
ReplyDeleteA micromanaging flibbertigibbet of a department chair cured me of that. It was when I was called "selfish" because I didn't want to do substantial extra work during vacation that I finally realized: DON'T answer e-mail from the office while on vacation.
(Runner up was a student who’d earned an F in my class that was bad for his sports eligibility. He told me he’d sell his soul. I told him that although it’s rare these days for scientists like me to be accused of sorcery, don’t push your luck.)
The modern-a-go-go electronic lifestyle will not allow me to ignore e-mail, however. After about 48 hours, I start getting increasingly numerous, repetitive, panicky e-mail, usually (but not always) from students. These messages DEMAND that I answer at once. Alas, IT won’t (and probably can’t) implement an automated e-mail “vacation” message, like we used to have under Unix.
My remedy? I do still read e-mail from the office while on vacation. I probably shouldn’t, but conceivably, something might be important (particularly when I serve as department chair). I don’t answer it, though, unless it really is important. I respond to everything else with my very own forged vacation message.
That’s right, I send a message that says:
From: F. Frankenstien (via the vacation program)
Subject: automated reponse: away from my e-mail
Dear Students and Colleagues,
This is an automated reponse, via the vacation program. I am going to be out of town between (date1) and (date2). Your e-mail regarding "$SUBJECT" will be read when I return. Best,
So far, this has always worked great. No one blames me for ignoring their unimportant e-mail. This is all the more amusing because that’s precisely what I’m doing.
Caveat: my position, by description, involves teaching only, not service, and my department is good about respecting that distinction.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be accepted practice among my colleagues to write a vacation message adapted to our most impatient correspondents: i.e., our students. So, while no one (at least no one not on a hiring or other committee that is doing work over the break) complains if they don't hear back from a colleague over the break, we're also not surprised to get an answer in a few days from someone who declares him/herself "away from email" until mid-January in an auto-message. We can also craft different messages for internal and external correspondents, which keeps one from putting off the journal editor writing to accept your manuscript, or the job committee offering an interview, or the Nobel committee, or whoever.
I write an internal message that allows me to ignore student email from the time grades are posted (usually a few days before Christmas) until the first workday after January 1 (which is also when the registrar's office reopens and I could change grades if I -- and my chair, who would have to sign off on any corrections of mistakes -- were so inclined, which I/we almost never are, but it's simply not possible during the week before, even if I did make a clear error -- which, so far, I haven't, but it will happen one of these days, I'm sure). For the benefit of other correspondents, I'm a little vague about exactly why I'm not answering quickly -- phrases like "away from email," "will have only intermittent access" or "checking infrequently and answering only the most urgent messages" tend to come up -- but I do set a firm return date, say that I will answer messages as soon as possible after that, and follow up (at least within a day or two). By then, I find that many students have calmed down/resigned themselves to their grades, or gone on vacation (or at least stopped checking university email) themselves. There's something to be said for a cooling-off period, I think, and I usually implement an artificial one even when there's no official holiday (and I'm traveling no further than my bed) at the end of the term.
I try to take at least one trip each year where I have no email, and therefore cannot answer it. If these are longer than a week, I put up an auto-reply.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I reply to the important stuff and ignore the rest.
I put up an automated e-mail reply because my institution is so strict about why you can be away. So it says where I am and when I will reply. Unfortunately there's no way to distinguish between internal and external addresses.
ReplyDeleteI also have a little PS in my signature line saying that if I do not reply within X hours, please resend your e-mail. That cuts back on a lot of it.
I set an auto-mail because it seems polite. And 'cos I can. Mine usually says something like:
ReplyDeleteI will be out of the office until X date. I will have intermittent email access whilst absent, therefore may not be able to respond to your message until X date.
If you have an urgent question about module Y, contact the departmental office on XXXX.
I sometimes add details - I am 'out of the office attending a conference' or 'at a staff development event' or 'doing field research' - if it's term time when like F&T we also have very strict rules about absences. And I might add a seasonal reference in years when the Chair is not someone who is too politically correct. As a Christian I don't see anything wrong with saying that I'm out for the Christmas holidays and I hope everyone has a peaceful and refreshing break, but apparently that can be considered non-inclusive. Sigh.
F&T, I'm going to borrow that sig. p.s. if that's OK, perfect!
F&T's idea is good.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago I had a group that I knew from previous experience would be tough. My signature line from when the semester started was something like:
"In principle, mail is checked and answered 8 - 4, Monday - Friday".
It was hard to stick to it, but I did, and things went well.
Shoot, whenever the Nobel committee wants to talk to me, it's always at 4 a.m., since Fresno is in California. I tell them to smeg off, just like Richard Feynman did.
ReplyDeleteI don't set one, though I may borrow the fake one above for obnoxious people. When people send these to listservs every damn day during Christmas break by forgetting to set an exception (even if they can) it drives me crazy. Blargh.
ReplyDeleteI now turn on the auto-reply over the summer. Before Governor Fucktardo got elected, I checked and answered emails once or twice a week over the summer (when I am not under contract and therefore not being paid). Once the Republicans decided to make us all "pay our fair share," I decided that there was no way in fucking hell I was going to work [unpaid] AT ALL over the summer. I mostly stuck to it, though once August rolled around it was a bit more difficult, because our student services is working overtime to get students enrolled into classes and I understand their position, and it goes against my grain to be intentionally unhelpful.
ReplyDeleteOver Christmas, it's a bit more challenging. I usually post a message about grades once they're up, and tell students not to bug me until after the 1st of the year. Mostly they respect that, and I feel safe in ignoring the ones who don't.
"Dr. Academic is away from her office. She will answer your email if she likes you. Resending will not improve your chances."
ReplyDelete"I am out office and taking a break from the stupidity I had to encounter during the semester by indulging in all sorts of sinful debauchery and questionable activities. If I do not reply by X date I am probably in jail and need bail money. Thank you for your understanding."
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ReplyDeleteWhile I was teaching, if someone was sufficiently desperate to contact me after hours, they could always look up my number in the telephone book. If anybody called me at home, I figured that it had better be extremely important, like an impending nuclear strike or something of equal magnitude.
ReplyDeleteI gave out only my office e-mail address to my students but I needn't have bothered as few of them back then bothered to contact me that way.
I've never left an out-of-office email message, but I have left one on voicemail, directing people to use my email, because I check that even when on vacation.
ReplyDeleteOn the door: "Gone Drinkin'."
ReplyDeleteEmail: "Out dynamite fishing. If I still have fingers I'll write back."
My email address expires with my at-will, term-to-term contract. So long, suckers!
ReplyDeleteps: As soon as my grades are in, I'll be retiring to my closet to drink and bawl my eyes out whilst listening to NPR talk about the "discouraged job-seekers."
ReplyDelete