In today's society so many of us are addicted to work. We take a vacation and continue to check email, or go out on maternity leave (as was my recent case) and can't help but respond to emails that arrive. It's like my own little shot of adrenaline! I feel like we should have a support group for this kind of thing. 

So why have an out of office message? Check out my reasons below. 

To explain why you're out. 

Not everyone chooses to share why they're out of the office, but I find that sharing the reason shows a more human side of me and allows people to empathize with the reason. It could be anything from out at a conference, to vacation, to new baby, or family emergency. Whatever the reason, adding the human quality can be helpful as long as you're comfortable with that.

To temper expectations.

I was clear in my out of office that I would be responding intermittently, which was accurate. During my first maternity leave I wrote that I would NOT be checking e-mails and for the most part that was true. People want a response to their messages, and setting expectations can help notify your clients or vendors that things may take longer than usual. It will help save your relationships with others.

To direct people where to get a more immediate response. 

This is essential to communicate. Often, people will add contact information for their assistant. In my case, I had 3 to 4 different people to list that were covering my responsibilities in my absence. I was specific about who to contact for each program I would be missing. This made the transition incredibly smooth. 

To try and create a space where you aren't obligated to answer at all. 

If you're out for a family emergency, chances are you do not want to be checking email. If you're out for a vacation and you don't want to check email then you shouldn't have to, that is your right! I am definitely a proponent for not checking email on vacation... 100% in theory and 0% in practice, which is something that I definitely need to work on in the future. 

So why do we answer emails when we have an out of office message up? That my friends is for another post!