Something for the weekend: Annual leave is an important benefit for all employees, and you might think that there is not much to find funny about it. Well, think again, as a TikTok video made by Oilshore, revealing creative messages from Generation Z employees to let their co-workers know that they are out of the office, has caused some amusement.
The @oilshore account’s video includes a variety of honest and satirical messages. One employee wrote: “On vacation. Hoping to win the lottery and never return”, while another worker candidly states how being out of the office is bad news for their co-workers, but good news for them. One employee made use of the browser error code 404, stating that they could not be found.
Other messages include “do not contact me while I’m on leave or I’ll report you to HR”, “I’m unsure why you’re emailing me given that I put this on my calendar months ago”, “Please enjoy your break from me!” and “If you need me… too bad!” The final message of the video bluntly states: “Contact someone other than me.”
Viewers of the video found it funny and shared their thoughts in the comments section.
@melissa_miller commented: “I wish I had this direct attitude, but my millennial self would never be able to do that”, while @brilliantltybetsy said: “Me as a millennial holding my 90+ PTO [paid time off] hours that I have to use by the end of the year like it’s a game of Texas hold ’em.”
Meanwhile, @yungwheez said: “I wish we could do this in my office. We can’t even make jokes in the sales flares anymore”, and @mvh11 stated: “As a millennial, it appears I may be a rare breed who does something similar to this!”
While we at Employee Benefits might not advise being quite so direct with out-of-office messages, we would encourage employees to make good use of their annual leave for their wellbeing!