The Perfect Maternity Leave Out Of Office Message

You may be asking yourself: is it possible to overthink a maternity leave out of office (OOO) message?  We think not!  And here’s why.

At Josie, we believe that a well crafted maternity leavve OOO message can be a savvy strategic move for career-driven parents. It’s a brand building technique that can leave a strong impression on the reader.  Additionally – and this is important for the people leaders – like it or not, it’s part of the leadership shadow you cast.  In other words, your maternity leave OOO signals to others what’s okay, what’s not, and how a good one is written.

This post will guide you through the key components and best practices for creating an out of office response that’s not only informative, but also fun and authentic. Ultimately, our hope is that it will give you peace of mind as you make this big transition into parental leave!

Key Components of a Parental Leave Out of Office Message

Like any well-crafted maternity leave OOO message, there are a few fundamental components that need to be in place:

• Clear Dates:  Make sure to include your expected return date, so your colleagues know when you’ll be back in action. 
• Contact Details: Provide an alternate contact person (or persons) for specific and more general needs, depending on your role and coverage plan for while you’re out.
• Tone: This is totally up to you – the most important component to keep in mind is authenticity. You may want to keep it strictly professional – or perhaps strike a balance between professionalism and humor.

Bottom line: at Josie we believe the maternity leave OOO can serve as a personal brand-building tool, if you want it to be.  Ya know – just finding those ways that becoming a parent enriches your identity as a professional!

Hot tip: typically, you can set up different maternity leave OOO messages for internal emails and those from outsize of your organization.  Think about who may reach out and whether crafting slightly different messages may work best for you.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Message

Okay, let’s break-down the key pieces of your message, one beautifully typed line at a time:

Salutation:

• Option 1: Keep it profesh.
  • A simple “Hello, thank you for your message,” “Hi there,” “Greetings” are all good alternatives.
• Option 2: Give it a kick.
  • We’ve seen some fun ones at Josie. “Greetings from Diaper Land!”, “Hello from Crib Side!”, and “Hi there from the world of sippy cups and storybooks” are some of our favorites. Go ahead and let your creativity shine.
  • You may also elect to share details about your baby’s name, date of birth, and gender. By doing so, you’re making this huge life transition a bit more real for the reader who isn’t running on 3 hours of sleep and endless poop diaper changes.  You can keep it simple: “We welcomed our son Max to the world on February 3. Everyone is healthy and enjoying time our time together as a family of 3.”
• Option 3: Forgo it.
  • It is totally okay to just get to the point – after all, for many of us, less it more. Don’t feel obligated to be overly polite. Remember, authenticity here is key!

Reason for absence and timeframe: Keep it short and simple. For this part of your message, our suggestion is to keep it concise and direct. After all, people do need to know why you’re out and for what duration – and if you complicated too much, things can get confusing!  Try something like “I am currently out of office on parental leave, with an expected return date of XXXX.”  Just two things to note:

• When you specify the type of leave, try using “parental leave” rather than “maternity leave”. Why? By using the “parental” language, you are signaling that it’s okay – and increasingly common – for both birthing and non-birthing parents to take some form of leave. There are numerous studies showing health and career benefits when both birthing and non-birthing parents take leave to care for their children.
• Lots of things can happen as you approach your return date.  Perhaps you had a medical challenge that will prolong your leave, or you and your manager are able to work out a more flexible schedule for the first month back.  Try adding the word “expected” or “anticipated” before the return date to signal that there may be a need for flexibility.

Contact information: Provide alternative contact persons for various responsibilities you currently hold.  For some, this may just be one person who can triage your messages on your behalf to keep it straightforward.  For others, you may need to put down multiple names (especially if you have clients / customers who will have new points of contact.) One thing to note here – and this is NOT for everyone – if you are open to be contacted for specific matters, you can add that here as well.  Trust us – even we are conflicted as we type this sentence out, but as our Josie mental health coaches have always said – you need to do whatever feels right for you.  So, what does that mean?

That means if there is a project you worked so, so hard on and it pains you to be completely disconnected from it while you’re out, and you find yourself feeling anxious not being in the know – then perhaps it’s okay to get updates on a limited basis. Work out in advance how, when, and how often you would want to receive those updates.  For example:

• “For urgent matters regarding the [ABC account/project/client], please text me at XXX.” 

Closing: Similar to your salutation, you can either keep this professional or build in a bit of personality and signal your values in this final line or two.  Here are a few examples:

• “Our daughter Amelia says thank you to my colleagues who are covering for me while I’m out, and she is grateful for this special time we can spend together!”
• “I am grateful to have this time with our growing family. Thank you, XX.”

Sample Maternity Leave Out of Office Messages

Sample 1: [the keep-it-simple-don’t-overexplain-edition]

Hi there! 

Thank you for your message. We welcomed our daughter Josie to the world on April 3, 2018.

I am currently out of the office on parental leave, with an expected return date of July 31, 2018.  For urgent matters, please contact [insert superhero colleague’s email].  Otherwise, I will respond upon my return.

Best,

[Your name]

Sample 2: [the I’m-gonna-let-it-shine edition]

Greetings from the land of lullabies and diapers!

I am currently on parental leave and trading my keyboard for a baby monitor as I embark on the wild adventure of new parenthood.  My expected return date is October 31, 2022. Until then, please contact the following for urgent needs regarding:

• Families ERG: [insert colleague name, email address]
• ABC Account: [insert colleague name, email address]
• General questions: [insert colleague name, email address]

For everything else, I will respond upon my return. Baby Josie says “thank you [company name] for letting me spend this time with [mama/papa]!”

Best,

[Your Name]

Customizing Your Message for Your Maternity Leave Out of Office Response

As you sit back and review your awesomely crafted message, take one last moment to ensure it reflects you, your values, and your company’s culture and expectations.  If you’re the type who always goes for the extra credit, you may even want to revisit your company’s overall value statements, and build in some of that language into your message. For example, one Josie client wove-in her company’s value of “Root for Each Other” and mentioned this language in her message (“I’m grateful to XYZ company and my colleagues who are rooting for me as I make this transition.”)

Best Practices for Out of Office Maternity Leave Messages

Now that you’ve done your homework, it’s time to turn it in! 

When it comes to timing, we suggest having your OOO ready-to-go 4 – 5 weeks prior to your due date. This will mean less of a scramble as you get closer to baby’s big debut.  If you need to change any details after baby arrives, that’s totally fine – just make sure you won’t be locked out of your accounts for any reason and have an HR point of contact handy for any tech questions.

Another consideration: create a personal “OOO” as well. For example, Gmail can also send automated responses.  Sometimes a little reminder to folks that you’ve got your hands full can go a long way in giving you peace of mind when you’re unable to answer all those messages as quickly as you used to 😊

By following these guidelines and infusing your personality into your parental leave out of office message, you’ll create a memorable and informative response that keeps your professional life on track while you tackle parenthood like a pro! 

Want a little more 1:1 guidance?  Grab a pre-leave planning session with a Josie coach here. Your coach can help you setup a solid transition plan before going out on leave, create an intention for your leave, and of course – help you craft that perfect out of office message!