Out-of-office replies: Can a strongly worded one set you free?

Consider these quick tips from career counsellors for keeping coworkers at bay

During my weeklong summer vacation to London, I set an out-of-office reply to alert anyone who dared contact me that, fingers crossed, I’d have “limited access to email.”

But I knew I would be Instagramming. Constantly. Anyone who saw my posts would realize I had unlimited access to the internet, so I added a hopeful disclaimer: I’d still be reachable for “emergencies only.”

It didn’t work. Despite my strict, almost forbidding OOO email reply, I fielded upwards of 50-plus follow-ups and even some nudging texts while I was gone. My colleagues knew that today’s “always on” smartphone-connected work culture compels one to respond to an email wherever one is.

“Whether you set an out-ofoffice or not, you’re responsible for the work and for knowing what’s going on when you return,” said “Leave Your Mark” career guide author Aliza Licht. “The point is, no one really cares that you’re on vacation.”

So what to do? Maybe I should have slammed the door, clarifying that I would not, under any circumstance, respond until my return, so do not write, call or text until then. “Perhaps it makes more sense to designate yourself as reachable or unreachable, to be clear about into which camp you fall,” agreed Jaclyn Johnson, founder of the careerists’ platform Create & Cultivate, who said a firm black or white stance beats giving people the slightest opening. “How you do that can be symbolic of who you are as a professional.”

Some people threaten to delete all emails upon return. Many deflect with a joke, but taking creative liberties with an OOO only works if you’re high enough on the food chain in certain industries. “Stating you’ll respond ‘if you feel inspired’ will likely be poorly received at a law firm or by your boss if you’re entry-level,” said Ms. Licht. “It comes down to anticipating who’s receiving the message.”

Others think that working a not-so-humble brag about, say, your “tightly scheduled tour of vineyards in Burgundy” into your OOO might convince people to leave you alone, or at least want to. For some recipients, however, “that’s just too much information,” said Ann Shoket, author of “The Big Life,” a selfhelp resource for professionals.

If you can’t totally excise yourself from the grind, or can’t push your work off to a colleague, Ms. Johnson recommends selecting a window of availability each day to maintain some semblance of control over a vacation. Because let’s be real, we can never truly sign off (line) anymore.