1. Brag about your destination.
No one honestly likes the Facebook pictures of vacation toes and cocktails co-workers post, so subtlety is key here.
“I will be out of the office until January 2nd with no access to email. There is a chance the resort will have some connectivity, but I don’t know how often I’ll be on land.”
But what do you care if someone is annoyed? You’re on your way to paradise.
2. Make sure you’re covered.
You are invaluable, and to prove it, assign a village as your coverage, making sure everyone knows where to turn in your absence.
“I will be out of the office until January 2nd. Please contact the appropriate party below:
For engineering questions – Please contact Caitlyn
For sales questions – Please contact Colin
For operations questions – Please contact Zachary
For marketing questions – Please contact Bryce
For HR questions – Please contact Evelyn
For Accounts Payable – Please contact Julia
For Accounts Receivable – Please contact Carly
For Facilities – Please contact JJ
If, by chance, there’s something I missed – Please contact Celia”
Happy Holidays! (Especially to Caitlyn, Colin, Zachary, Bryce, Evelyn, Julia, Carly, JJ and Celia who were kind enough to work this holiday season.)
3. Have fun with some mystery.
Here’s an opportunity to mess with people just to see if you can earn a response. ‘Tis the season!
“I will be out of the office returning January 2nd or much, much later if things go wrong again.”
“I’m sorry I missed your email, but at least I didn’t miss my plane. It’s not like you can get there very easily. See you on the 2nd!”
“I am out of the office crossing off a bucket list item. I’ll be back on January 2nd to tell you all about it.”
4. Delegate!
No reason the wheels should stop turning while you’re on vacay, right? Perfect example – our proprietary “alternates” feature so “Out of Office” Oliver can reassign tasks coming due to “PTO” Peter, who burned his time off earlier at a kumquat convention in Queens.
While not intentionally cruel, DevonWay does help get you off the hook if you’re “Beach Bound” Bob and need time away from “Dishes in the Sink” Doug.
