Most interesting out-of-office email responses we've seen recently

Some got us hungry, others got us sharing a giggle or two within the team.

With long weekends passed and the school holidays taking place in the past month, many of us have been taking extended days of leave — whether for a quick getaway to a nearby country, to spend some reflection time outdoors, or to be 'slothing' and Netflix-ing at home (some of us find that a great mental break!).

With that, the team at HRO have been receiving a few interesting out-of-office auto responses over time, in response to our invitations for magazine interviews, speaking opportunities, and more.

In a nod to their creativity, we've rounded up some of our favourites below:

[all responses have been edited to maintain privacy, and for brevity]

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#1 We got nervous for a moment, there.

"Hello!

I’m currently on an epic quest to the Annapurna Base Camp. I’ll be out of the office and likely out of breath from xxx-xxx.

Quick Notes:

• Email: Checked only if I spot a Yeti with a smartphone
• Immediate Assistance: If it is that urgent, contact the CEO PA (xxx: +65 xxxx xxxx, efg@abcd.com). She will get you out of trouble.

Wish me luck, and I’ll return as long as I do not get into an avalanche ..."

(Not to worry, we checked, they're back well and healthy and away from yetis!)

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#2 This one's not for a holiday - it's to welcome a new life!

"Hi,

I am currently out of office, embarking on the most important delivery yet - a baby. While I attempt to deliver excellence on the home front, I won't be able to respond to emails till xxx.

In the meantime, please reach out to xxx at efg@abcd.com.

Thank you."

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#3 Thank you for the detailed directions.

"Thanks for reaching out. We're making the most of the long weekend and I'm out of the office till Thursday.

If it's urgent you have my wonderful team (please note they are away until Wednesday too):

efg@abcd.com - for all things Committee, Government Programmatic partnership and Training related

xyz@abcd.com - for all things Working Group, Research and Policy related

pqr@abcd.com - for all things Operations and Content related

finance@abcd.com - self explanatory

hello@abcd.com - if you aren't sure where to start"

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#4 Yummy food in KL? Count us in!

"Hi,

I am on annual leave in Kuala Lumpur connecting with my food, I mean roots. As I’ll be busy stuffing my face, it will be quite difficult for me to reply to emails. I will be back in the office on xxx.

I will check emails intermittently so do expect a delay in replies. If it is urgent, please email efg@abcd.com and someone from the team will be in touch."

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#5 Colour us puzzled.

"Hi there, thanks for your mail. I'm away at meetings for most of today, so my reply to your mail will be delayed. Please reach out to my xxx colleagues or to the relevant people in the cc list for urgent matters. Otherwise, I'll reply to your mail when I'm able to.

In the meantime, here are some puzzles for you to solve:
A. Help Donna make sense of Dr. Finklestein's appointment list for today. Match each patient to their appointment time and medical complaint.
1. The patient suffering from vertigo is either Chester or Leroy.
2. The patient with the 12 noon appointment is complaining about vertigo.
3. Chester has an appointment 1 hour before the patient suffering from hip pain.
4. The patient suffering from foot pain has an appointment 1 hour before the person suffering from heartburn.
5. Chester has an appointment sometime before Terry.

Patients: Chester, Leroy, Terry, Zachary
Ailments: Foot pain, heartburn, hip pain, vertigo
Times: 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm

B. Pretoria County held its bowling league finals last week. Using only the clues below, match each team to their shirt colour and final score.
1. The squad in the yellow shirts finished 24 points above the Splitters.
2. The team in the gold shirts finished with a score that was somewhat lower than that of the Alley Cats.
3. The squad in the magenta shirts finished 24 points below the Oddballs.
4. The squad that finished with 739 points wore yellow shirts.
5. The Alley Cats wore yellow shirts.

Teams: Alley Cats, Oddballs, Splitters, Turkey Rolls
Scores: 715, 727, 739, 751
Shirt Colours: Gold, Magenta, White, Yellow"

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Came across a funny out-of-office message recently? Send it to us at priyas@humanresourcesonline.net and we might just have a second edition!

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Photo: 123RF