This weekend is a Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. For many of us it is the symbolic end of the summer. And for many of us it’s the last time that we’ll unplug from work for a few months. Speaking of unplugging from work, yesterday Google announced a new Gmail feature that will notify senders that you’re out of office before they even send you a message.
Now when have an out-of-office entry on your Google Calendar, Gmail will display an out-of-office warning to people who are drafting messages to you. For example, if I have an out-of-office entry for 3pm-5pm today and you draft a message during that time, Gmail will display a warning that I’m out-of-office before you even send that message.
This new Gmail feature could be a great addition to the traditional out-of-office auto responder that you use. By displaying that you’re out of office, senders might reconsider sending you a message or will schedule it to be sent at a time when they know you’re more likely to read it and reply to it.
The new out-of-office warning feature will be available to all Gmail and G Suite users within the next few weeks. The feature will be on by default.