We need an unbiased phrase that recognizes that we get to step away from work — no matter where our work takes place.

by Caroline Dettmanm Have Her Back / Added 9 hours ago

Lately, out of office email responses have become more common — and creative. 

The pandemic has forced us to be more transparent about when we are unavailable. This week alone I’ve received several unfortunately too common replies about “taking care of a loved one with COVID.” I’ve received vulnerable warnings from a working parent that “things could go sideways at a moment’s notice.” More recently, a relatable response was simply “I’m on vacation, FINALLY.”   

I welcome the honesty. But I do believe, however, that the idea of an “out of office” reply is completely outdated. Because if the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that you don’t have to be in an office to be working. The pandemic gave us a break from the office, but not a break from working. Far from it! I haven’t been in an office in two years, and I’ve been working harder than ever. 

Recently, Have Her Back ran a study of women in corporate workplaces. We found that 79% would prefer to continue having a flexible work schedule, with just 4% preferring a hybrid workplace. The majority of women (60%)  do  want to work in an office…at least a few days a week. That said, only 26% of women believe working in the office full-time is best for them. 

Employers seem to be on a different page. Almost half (41%) believe their employer thinks working in the office full-time is best: a disconnect during a time when hybrid work is ramping up.  

No matter how you look at the data, women want some form of remote working going forward. They highly value flexibility, but burnout is real, too. According to a McKinsey and Lean In study, 42% of women say they have consistently felt burned out at work in 2021.  

Our study found that women will choose to build their careers at companies with more flexible and equitable workplaces. Women expect flexibility. A notion that one must work in the office to succeed is not only outdated, it's inequitable.  

So today, I’m breaking my own bias. I’m going to stop saying out of office. It’s time we retired a phrase that defines working as being in the office.

Instead, I’m going with “away today.” No alliteration, perhaps, but a rhyme wins every time.  

“Away today” acknowledges that you don’t have to be in an office to work — and normalizes it. It’s important we have an unbiased phrase that recognizes that we get to step away from work — no matter  where  our work takes place.

Caroline Dettman is co-founder of DE&I consultancy Have Her Back.

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