Looking for opinions on a work e-mail

LegacyUser

Hi all,

I'm looking for opinions on a work e-mail.


Luckily enough i am going to the US on holiday in October, so as i work in a large company i will be e-mailing most of the people whom i'm involved with at work- reminding them that i am going away (about a dozen).

About six of them have asked me about the specific cities which i am going to, so we have had conversations about that.

My brother said to me when i'm sending my notification to people i should just mention that i am going on leave instead of mentioning where i'm actually going to as the majority of my colleagues know already.

My brother said to me if i mention where i'm going- it might be perceived as i'm bragging about it!...

I'd think that most people would just mention that they're going on leave- why would you give people your schedule?

Any opinions would be appreciated- thanks.

What should i do?

Esoteric_

I don't really see a problem with telling your work colleagues where you're going. When people in my job go on holidays, everyone asks where they're going, what they're gonna do, what sights they're gonna see, etc. I'm not going away til the end of the year and people are already asking me where I'm going and what I'm going to be doing, just because they know I booked time off for it.

Miss Fluff

Just tell them you're going on leave and leave it at that

mikemac

I can't see how you are bragging
If you tell someone it's pretty automatic they'll ask you about your plans

Telling people you are spending 30k on a wedding is bragging

All you are doing is going on holidays

Firetrap

Just tell them you're going on leave and give them the dates when you'll be unavailable. That's what happens in my workplace. If people want to ask after that, so be it

helimachoptor

Apart from the bragging, where you go on hols is your business. I dont see why you have to tell them in an email.

sam34

send an email saying you will be on annual leave from x date to y date.

they don't need your travel itinerary. people asking you your holiday plans in casual conversation is different.

Zen65

Jason198765 wrote: »

My brother said to me when i'm sending my notification to people i should just mention that i am going on leave instead of mentioning where i'm actually going to as the majority of my colleagues know already.

Depending on the job you are doing, it is normal to simply e-mail a reminder that you will be "out of the country on leave" from date XXXX to date YYYY and offer no further details. Stating that you are "out of the country" also confirms that you don't want to receive calls to your mobile, as you may be in a different time zone.

Most company e-mail systems have the facility to set an out-of-office automatic e-mail receipt also, which is sent automatically in reply to any received e-mails. I suggest you set this up for the dates you are away also, again giving no details about where you are going to be.

Be at peace,


Z

LegacyUser

sam34 wrote: »

they don't need your travel itinerary. people asking you your holiday plans in casual conversation is different.

Well, no you don't have to give them your travel itinerary, but if the majority of them know already there's nothing wrong with stating 'i am going on annual leave tomorrow as i am travelling to the US/ going on holiday to the US'.

That's perfectly reasonable.

I know plenty of people who've done it in different companies.

Of course if you start stating that you'll be in New York at 8am or New Jersey at 10am, well that's different!

Nothing wrong with mentioning the country if they already know, if you want to.

sam34

tbh, I get so many work emails now that I scan them for essential info and mentally bin the extra unnecessary info in them. most colleagues don't really care about other proper travel plans, sure it might come up in casual chat as it's only polite to ask about plans if someone says they're going abroad, but that's all it is, small talk. if these people are not your family or friends then they probably don't really care what you're doing.

I now send as few work emails as possible and keep the ones I send as short as possible.

Linda19711 wrote: »

Well, no you don't have to give them your travel itinerary, but if the majority of them know already there's nothing wrong with stating 'i am going on annual leave tomorrow as i am travelling to the US/ going on holiday to the US'.

That's perfectly reasonable.

I know plenty of people who've done it in different companies.

Of course if you start stating that you'll be in New York at 8am or New Jersey at 10am, well that's different!

Nothing wrong with mentioning the country if they already know, if you want to.

LegacyUser

sam34 wrote: »

tbh, I get so many work emails now that I scan them for essential info and mentally bin the extra unnecessary info in them. most colleagues don't really care about other proper travel plans, sure it might come up in casual chat as it's only polite to ask about plans if someone says they're going abroad, but that's all it is, small talk. if these people are not your family or friends then they probably don't really care what you're doing.

I now send as few work emails as possible and keep the ones I send as short as possible.

Fair enough but i'd disagree with you slightly.

I know of plenty of people who've decided to state where they're going and to be honest i think that's perfectly reasonable if the employee decides to do it.

Also in the companies in which i know people have done it, other colleagues have genuinely wished them all the best and replied to the particular message. And vice-versa.

I don't think mentioning when you are going on one line of your notification would consititute unnecessary information if the employee decides to do it. It's where the person in question is going.

If the employee decides to mention it, it's perfectly okay, if the employee doesn't decide to then that's perfectly fine also.

Tricia1

I'd agree with Linda on this one.

Nobody's saying that you should be sending your colleagues your itineary, but if you've already been talking to the majority of them about your plans, then it's perfectly okay to say 'i am on annual leave tomorrow as i am going on holiday to US/ Spain/ France etc'...whatever it may be.

You're giving them a reminder. Personally i know of a lot of my colleagues who would mention the country they are going to and that's perfectly okay.

Common sense tells you that you don't list everything that you are doing but mentioning the country you're going to is perfectly acceptable.

A lot of my colleagues would mention the country, some wouldn't. People do things differently.

It's fine either way as far as i'm concerned.

Tricia1

Also, in relation to indicating that you're abroad.

If you only indicate that you're on leave (say set-up e-mail reply), then you're not indicating that you are actually out of the country per se.

Also some people don't set up the e-mail reply facility, so e-mailing the relevant colleagues reminding/indicating to them that you are abroad with one sentence is perfectly reasonable.

It's a reminder and it advises that you are actually out of the country.

LegacyUser

Zen65 wrote: »

Depending on the job you are doing, it is normal to simply e-mail a reminder that you will be "out of the country on leave" from date XXXX to date YYYY and offer no further details. Stating that you are "out of the country" also confirms that you don't want to receive calls to your mobile, as you may be in a different time zone.

Most company e-mail systems have the facility to set an out-of-office automatic e-mail receipt also, which is sent automatically in reply to any received e-mails. I suggest you set this up for the dates you are away also, again giving no details about where you are going to be.

Be at peace,


Z

I agree. Unnecessary information is unprofessional IMO. Sending a memo to coworkers that wastes time with extraneous details is not good form. E-mail has made it too tempting to slip into informal company communication with work colleagues.

Firetrap

I sometimes get emails from people in work (not ones in my office but in other branches) to say they're going on holidays and won't be available. I don't want/need to know where they're going. As far as I'm concerned, they'll just not be available during this time and that's the end of that.

To be honest, I think setting up the Out of Office auto-reply is far more important. Unless someone takes the time to note your dates in their diary or on their computer, they'll have forgotten by the time October comes around. If you think that someone would be picking up the phone and trying to ring you during your time off, there's no harm in saying in the automated message that you'll be out of the country. I normally just put in a note giving the name and phone number of another person they can deal with should they need to.

Tricia1

Firetrap wrote: »

I sometimes get emails from people in work (not ones in my office but in other branches) to say they're going on holidays and won't be available. I don't want/need to know where they're going. As far as I'm concerned, they'll just not be available during this time and that's the end of that.

To be honest, I think setting up the Out of Office auto-reply is far more important. Unless someone takes the time to note your dates in their diary or on their computer, they'll have forgotten by the time October comes around.

I'd be assuming that the OP would be indicating that he's going away probably the day before he goes.

I can understand what you're saying about not being interested in where people are going in other branches- you don't work there.

What the OP is saying is that he's indicating this to a dozen or so colleagues/ maybe more who actually work with him.

As i said- i think indicating to them where you're going and that you'll actually be abroad within one sentence in the e-mail is perfectly reasonable.

As regards the out-of-office system, that won't necessarily indicate to the rest of the colleagues whom he hasn't spoken to- that he's actually out of the country, also some people don't use it the automated e-mail.

Some colleagues could think he's still in Ireland if something work-related crops up and try to contact him. (possibly).

As i said, as far as i'm concerned indicating where you're going is quite common within e-mails internally.

The itineary list is quite obviously out, but mentioning it in one line is fine.

LegacyUser

Thanks for your responses everybody.

I've decided to send the e-mail the day before i leave, and as advised i'll just mention the dates i am leaving and coming back.

Been thinking about it, most people have asked me about it already so i'll just leave it at that.

At the end of the day people have their own problems, so i think i'm doing the sensible thing!

Thanks- i was unsure!

StillWaters

I really don't understand this... I work for a large company, and am very sociable, so know that a & b are off interrailing/surfing, and x & y are just chilling with their kids, but their emails and OOF simple state they are on annual leave from b-c date.

LightningBolt

A simple I am on annual leave starting XX October and returning XX October, I won't be able to respond to emails/calls. If you deal with clients at all put down an alternative contact on your OOF who they can contact if it's urgent. That's about all you need to do.

There's no need to say you're off on holidays to a particular country. Totally unnecessary and unprofessional in my opinion.

LegacyUser

I really cant understand the issue here.

You are a working professional. The professional thing to do is send a group email simply stating you will be out of office during a certain period and will ahve limited access to your email. If anyone needs anything before hand to let you know and if anything urgent comes up to please contact your manager or co-workers, something like that.

I dont see why you would add personal details, that is very unprofessional, I really dont understand why this is even an issue.

If you have a chat with someone over lunch and they ask where you are going then thats a friendly conversation, no problem discussing it but the professional thing to do is send the above message, I am really struggling to find the issue here, just be professional.

Ickle Magoo

Jason198765 wrote: »

Thanks for your responses everybody.

I've decided to send the e-mail the day before i leave, and as advised i'll just mention the dates i am leaving and coming back.

Been thinking about it, most people have asked me about it already so i'll just leave it at that.

At the end of the day people have their own problems, so i think i'm doing the sensible thing!

Thanks- i was unsure!

Glad you've come to a decision.

As the OP no longer has an issue, I'm locking this thread. :cool: