Let’s face it: The out-of-office message is simply an excuse for not responding promptly to emails. Maybe we should leave our out-of-office message response on permanently.

The point of an out-of-office message is to let your colleagues and contacts know that you’ll be out of pocket. ... “Mark Zuckerberg, for example, can write whatever he wants,” Pollak quips.

TikTok creator Whaley says a good out-of-office message also puts the helpful bits of information — like who to contact instead — front and centre. Whatever you write, Fenning says, make it short.