I like to ask my colleagues how they prefer I communicate with them items while they are out on vacation. It helps to set expectations. If they have no preference I create a draft email with questions or items to discuss. I send the email the day before they return. I give the person an out in the first sentence that I was happy to schedule a quick call to discuss if it is faster than to respond to email. I hope this advice helps.

A bit of a late response, but I would suggest creating a draft, and then scheduling it to send the day or two before they return. That way, you have all your questions/items in one place, but they're not seeing it in their inbox until they get back. The only issue is that if they're reviewing in the order things were received, you may end up being on the later end of their responses. It all depends on how urgent it really is.

I would agree. I work in a job that oftentimes requires me to be on during my PTO. I let me supervisors know that if something urgent comes up, they can text or call me, but I turn off my email and Teams notifications expecting that they'll be crazy when I return. That said, I would also expect the people returning from PTO to take some time in responding to non-urgent requests, so give them a day or two before following up!

Another thing that I've done to respect a coworkers time off (especially if extensive) is to just schedule a 1/2 hour 1:1 meeting the afternoon of when they get back. This allows them the morning to reorient themselves to work and dig through their inbox. Then in our meeting we can prioritize the items that have built up over their time away. If I need a way to keep track of things I will use the calendar invite to make an agenda for topics to cover.

I just send the messages when I think of them and then let them respond when they return.

This isn’t helpful now, but I agree there needs to be plenty of time in advance to prepare for OOO colleagues so you can continue to move tasks along without them. For now if colleagues aren’t going to respond until they are back in the office, depending on what you need from them I agree it might be best to send a single note (perhaps schedule send via email) outlining requests. Again this all depends on exactly what you need from them. I know when I’m OOTO I go so far as to delete my email app from my phone temporarily so I don’t get office notifications. Best of luck to you!

As a manager it's imperative that you plan for these times of personal time off and you respect the work-life balance that your staff needs to unplug and refresh. If it's an emergency then yes reach out as an urgent matter. But as a matter of keeping the work moving, then please plan in advance to that you have the information you need to perform your work and any coverage for staff. I prepare a workflow plan in November for the team to contribute to and spend time in advance with them to get acquainted with the location of various info myself and for others that will be working through the holidays. It's imperative that there is preparation for times when members of the team is out.

Hi OOO etiquette, your colleagues have a right to their time off. With that said, I suggest you prioritize emails as high or low priority. I would also add a CTA such as FYI, requires follow up by x date, approval needed, etc. I have global responsibilities in a fast-paced multinational company, and I can tell you from experience that work slows down at this time of year. While most companies run without closing, there will always be periods around the globe when work slows down. If you are working and most of your colleagues are off, do all that you can do given the limited resources available to you. Be understanding as well. There will most certainly be a time when you will be unavailable and a colleague will need to email you.

These suggestions are great for people you need to email individually, but how would you suggest when you have to email groups of people and there is overlap in the groups but not completely the same?