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| Out of office, or just out of time? | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Sean Coughlan BBC News Today's e-mail glut is a constant worry for many office workers, with a third saying they get stressed by the volume of messages, according to a report. Time to put on your "out of office"? | By Sean Coughlan BBC News Today's e-mail glut is a constant worry for many office workers, with a third saying they get stressed by the volume of messages, according to a report. Time to put on your "out of office"? |
| The human spirit is indomitable. Give us a piece of technology and we'll subvert it. | The human spirit is indomitable. Give us a piece of technology and we'll subvert it. |
| It's the summer holiday season - offices are empty and computers left sleeping and even if you try to e-mail someone, all too often you'll get an "out of office" message. | It's the summer holiday season - offices are empty and computers left sleeping and even if you try to e-mail someone, all too often you'll get an "out of office" message. |
| But are they really away? Because out of office has become the latest piece of office trickery. | But are they really away? Because out of office has become the latest piece of office trickery. |
| This is a conversation overheard between two commuters (of course I'm going to say it's commuters, I don't want it any closer to home). | This is a conversation overheard between two commuters (of course I'm going to say it's commuters, I don't want it any closer to home). |
| "I thought you were away on holiday? I got an out of office." | "I thought you were away on holiday? I got an out of office." |
| An out of office message stops them from freaking out - and it keeps their paranoia down to a dull roar Will Schwalbe class="" href="/1/hi/health/6944747.stm">Workers stressed by e-mails "No, I put that up a couple of days before, so no one expects me to answer their e-mails." | |
| People are using the out of office like answering machines to screen their calls. At a single stroke, it defuses the expectation that anyone is there to reply. It's a kind of tactical, unclear weapon. | People are using the out of office like answering machines to screen their calls. At a single stroke, it defuses the expectation that anyone is there to reply. It's a kind of tactical, unclear weapon. |
| Survival | Survival |
| But getting strategic with the out of office is nothing to be ashamed about, says Will Schwalbe, who with David Shipley, is co-author of Send: The How, Why, When - and When Not - of Email. | But getting strategic with the out of office is nothing to be ashamed about, says Will Schwalbe, who with David Shipley, is co-author of Send: The How, Why, When - and When Not - of Email. |
| The New York-based Mr Schwalbe admits to being a little creative with the dates of his own out of office, gaining breathing space when he returns from a break. | The New York-based Mr Schwalbe admits to being a little creative with the dates of his own out of office, gaining breathing space when he returns from a break. |
| "I don't consider it dishonest. It's survival. I get about 200 e-mails a day, that's more than 60,000 every year. And people have got so demanding, if you don't answer in half an hour, they're e-mailing again to say 'why haven't you replied?' and 'didn't you get my e-mail?'. | "I don't consider it dishonest. It's survival. I get about 200 e-mails a day, that's more than 60,000 every year. And people have got so demanding, if you don't answer in half an hour, they're e-mailing again to say 'why haven't you replied?' and 'didn't you get my e-mail?'. |
| Enough is enough: Those were the days"An out of office message stops them from freaking out - and it keeps their paranoia down to a dull roar," says Mr Schwalbe. | Enough is enough: Those were the days"An out of office message stops them from freaking out - and it keeps their paranoia down to a dull roar," says Mr Schwalbe. |
| "The only time that people used to use out of office was when they were on vacation - 'I'm at the summer house in Maine, ring my assistant if it's urgent' - but now quite cleverly people are using it to say 'I'm really busy at the moment, please don't take offence, but it's going to take a couple of days before I get back'." | "The only time that people used to use out of office was when they were on vacation - 'I'm at the summer house in Maine, ring my assistant if it's urgent' - but now quite cleverly people are using it to say 'I'm really busy at the moment, please don't take offence, but it's going to take a couple of days before I get back'." |
| Rebecca Clake, research manager for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says an out of office message is one way in which staff are trying to cope with the information overload. | Rebecca Clake, research manager for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says an out of office message is one way in which staff are trying to cope with the information overload. |
| 'No e-mail days' | 'No e-mail days' |
| Managers are so aware of the amount of time taken up by the e-mail backlog, she says, that "some companies have introduced 'no e-mail days', where, once a week, no one is allowed to send internal e-mails". | Managers are so aware of the amount of time taken up by the e-mail backlog, she says, that "some companies have introduced 'no e-mail days', where, once a week, no one is allowed to send internal e-mails". |
| But it's not just the dates that are being changed. If people are stuck at work under mouse arrest all day, they want the out of office messages to say something about their personalities. | But it's not just the dates that are being changed. If people are stuck at work under mouse arrest all day, they want the out of office messages to say something about their personalities. |
| Here's one picked up from a blog. "I am currently in the middle of the Great African Plains dodging lions and rhinos without mobile phone coverage or wifi hot spots. I will be back in the office on Monday 12th February fully refreshed and eager to deal with your enquiry." | Here's one picked up from a blog. "I am currently in the middle of the Great African Plains dodging lions and rhinos without mobile phone coverage or wifi hot spots. I will be back in the office on Monday 12th February fully refreshed and eager to deal with your enquiry." |
| The smart phone - 'in' the office, even when you're out This is modest stuff compared to the entirely unironic advice this week from US marketing columnist Karen Gedney, who explains how out of office is an opportunity to make an impression. | The smart phone - 'in' the office, even when you're out This is modest stuff compared to the entirely unironic advice this week from US marketing columnist Karen Gedney, who explains how out of office is an opportunity to make an impression. |
| "Travelling to an exotic locale? Be sure to mention it. This will elevate you in your reader's eyes - and give you both something to talk about when you return. | "Travelling to an exotic locale? Be sure to mention it. This will elevate you in your reader's eyes - and give you both something to talk about when you return. |
| "If you're assuming a leadership role by leading a seminar, heading up a volunteer project, or something similar, let people know... And of course, when I actually win an award, that achievement gets its own special mention." | "If you're assuming a leadership role by leading a seminar, heading up a volunteer project, or something similar, let people know... And of course, when I actually win an award, that achievement gets its own special mention." |
| Bill Schwalbe says the need to show off like this is always going to surface, regardless of the technology. | Bill Schwalbe says the need to show off like this is always going to surface, regardless of the technology. |
| "Technology might change, but people stay the same. It's like answering machine messages you used to hear, 'sorry we're not in, we're meeting the Dalai Lama this weekend or we're paragliding in Tanzania'." | "Technology might change, but people stay the same. It's like answering machine messages you used to hear, 'sorry we're not in, we're meeting the Dalai Lama this weekend or we're paragliding in Tanzania'." |
| On message | On message |
| There are also lists of "funny" out of office messages being spammed around. | There are also lists of "funny" out of office messages being spammed around. |
| "You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, you wouldn't have received anything at all." | "You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, you wouldn't have received anything at all." |
| Or else the more cunning "Hi, I'm thinking about your interesting e-mail. Stay right by your computer until you receive my response." | Or else the more cunning "Hi, I'm thinking about your interesting e-mail. Stay right by your computer until you receive my response." |
| That plan to see the Dalai Lama... prepare for disappointmentThere's the loop tape offer of "Your e-mail was only incompletely received. Please turn off your PC, re-start and re-send." | That plan to see the Dalai Lama... prepare for disappointmentThere's the loop tape offer of "Your e-mail was only incompletely received. Please turn off your PC, re-start and re-send." |
| A much funnier out of office offering is from Jim Stallard writing in the San Francisco-based literary journal, McSweeney's. | A much funnier out of office offering is from Jim Stallard writing in the San Francisco-based literary journal, McSweeney's. |
| "I will be back in the office June 22 from 3.00am to 4.30am, trying to erase certain financial transactions from my hard drive. From June 22 through June 23, I will be checking my BlackBerry periodically to see whether company accountants have begun to pick up the trail." | "I will be back in the office June 22 from 3.00am to 4.30am, trying to erase certain financial transactions from my hard drive. From June 22 through June 23, I will be checking my BlackBerry periodically to see whether company accountants have begun to pick up the trail." |
| Or alternatively: "From June 25 through June 28, I will be travelling to the homes of various friends, trying unsuccessfully to borrow money." | Or alternatively: "From June 25 through June 28, I will be travelling to the homes of various friends, trying unsuccessfully to borrow money." |
| And if people start writing poetry about themselves in their out of office messages, it could be because people are less self-conscious in e-mails than they would be in real life. | And if people start writing poetry about themselves in their out of office messages, it could be because people are less self-conscious in e-mails than they would be in real life. |
| Without any of the usual social cues from a conversation, such as body language and tone of voice, e-mailers lose their embarrassment radar, suggests Carolyn Axtell of the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield. | Without any of the usual social cues from a conversation, such as body language and tone of voice, e-mailers lose their embarrassment radar, suggests Carolyn Axtell of the Institute of Work Psychology at the University of Sheffield. |
| "They can lose their inhibitions and become less concerned about how they will be evaluated. So people might say things on e-mail that they might not otherwise say." | "They can lose their inhibitions and become less concerned about how they will be evaluated. So people might say things on e-mail that they might not otherwise say." |
| This explains why people get so aggressive in e-mails, she says, and also why e-mails, blogs and networking websites are so full of "self-disclosure" - and how people are willing to tell strangers their whereabouts on an out of office message. | This explains why people get so aggressive in e-mails, she says, and also why e-mails, blogs and networking websites are so full of "self-disclosure" - and how people are willing to tell strangers their whereabouts on an out of office message. |
| I'd love to say more, but I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks. The Dalai Lama wants me to go paragliding with him in Tanzania. Again. | I'd love to say more, but I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks. The Dalai Lama wants me to go paragliding with him in Tanzania. Again. |
Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |