We all are humans, and we need vacations to take a break from our busy and frustrating life. The majority of the companies offer several vacation leaves to maintain a healthy work environment, letting their employees maintain a work-life balance. But we all know these holidays are not enough, especially if you want to have a good family time.
In such a situation we generally write a proper professional mail to our employers, so that we can enjoy our time without worrying about the work. But most employees feel shameful or are afraid to ask for holidays. But let me tell you, it’s completely normal to go on holiday!
Whenever the idea of vacation comes to your mind, it’s always a good time to take a break. We always recommend you do not hesitate because it’s a normal human working mechanism. After working for more than 40 hours a week, we all need a break from the daily grind.
But, you all need to ensure that you have already informed your employers and are writing professional and ethically correct emails to ask/request holidays.
Why Requesting Through Email is Very Important?
Vacation request emails are nothing but a formal or professional document highlighting the specific dates on which you will go for a holiday or will not be available for work. Mentioning the reason for your leave or vacation is always your choice.
You would certainly think if the holidays specifically belong to you and that you are not even related to your team members. So why is it mandatory to inform them, or why is it essential to request your employer about your holidays/absence?
Here is the appropriate reason: suppose you have already informed in advance to your employer that you are going to go on a holiday for a few days. However, everyone in the office is busy with their tasks and doesn’t have time to remember anything more than that. After a few days, you go on a holiday, and your employer or manager doesn’t remember what you said earlier: this will create massive confusion in the office.
The office team members will continuously call you during your holidays, making it difficult for you to focus on your family or friends. Even the employer wouldn’t have any backup plan or someone who can look after your work, which will highly impact the working environment and will create a stressful environment for the others as well as for you.
To avoid such a situation, always make sure that you are writing a professional mail to your manager so that they would have an idea about the situation. This will save their time and your time, and you will be more focused on your vacation.
Moreover, informing your employer about your absence or your vacation is very important. You cannot go on a holiday without getting your request approved by the manager/employer. So this is a clear cut reason why requesting is very important.
Email is essential because the verbal request or informing someone verbally is not a professional way of asking or requesting leave.
Many companies have a vacation request email draft because they want their employees to follow a particular format while writing a vacation mail. But if your company doesn’t have one, don’t worry; we have your back!
The Evolution Of Vacation Applications To Emails
Writing an application has always been in practice, but the tradition or method has been changed throughout these years. Initially, it used to be a written application in paper mode, but now it has changed to a modern digital format. The current digital format is much better compared to the paper mode application because it’s easy and much more convenient.
Furthermore, even Gmail has vacation responders that automatically inform the other person about your absence if they mail you on your vacation day. So don’t worry; use these options/advanced methods for your own and your team member’s benefit.
Your team members will handle your work, and it’s all going to be okay, and you will spend some leisure time with your friends and family.
What Should You Mention in Your Vacation Request?
The vacation message or application should include all the necessary details or whatever you think is important. A few of the most critical pieces of information are listed down below:
- The date when you are leaving and the date when you will return to work.
- The appropriate reason for your leave. Always be honest with the reason so that it wouldn’t create a big problem in the future.
- Whenever you are writing a mail, always mention the person in -charge of contact during any emergency. It can be your team member’s name, phone number, and email ID.
- The person who is in charge of any non-urgent inquiries shall also be mentioned in the emails. This can be someone from the team who is well aware of your work or generally is cc-ed in all of your work emails.
Now we will learn more about these points in detail and how exactly to use them in your emails?
- The reader or the manager should get to know about the purpose as well as the dates you are going to mention in your mail (in advance via verbal communication).
- Your subject lines should always be concise and direct to create an impactful first impression.
- Furthermore, you should always start your mail by simply greeting the manager or the reader instead of directly stating your reason and the dates you will take off. In most cases, the employee generally informs the manager or reader about their upcoming vacations in advance verbally.
If you have already told them verbally, you can write your e-mail as “as discussed earlier.” This will automatically inform the reader that you have talked about this before; therefore, there is no issue in granting you any leave from the office.
- You should always mention the dates you want to take off while also noting the date when you will be back in the office. It will give you a clear overview of your availability and unavailability.
Your subject line would have clarified the dates, but it would be better to mention it in the mail body. This helps in maintaining clear communication with the employer and documenting your data.
- Always keep a particular and simple reason for your leaves. Whether it is sick leave, an event, or time off for mental health, mention it clearly. Your manager will definitely understand your problems because they also get exhausted sometimes from the workload and take necessary breaks.
This will create a healthy relationship between your employer/manager and you.
- Provide them a list of all the tasks and the projects that you are working on currently and the person who has been assigned these works, as well as the deadline. This is completely optional, as your work mails will also be directed or cc-ed to the other team members in your mails.
If you think that there is any project that you are handling alone, then it would be better to give a very brief description of the project to the manager so that they would look out for someone who can take that project when you are absent.
Also, these managers will automatically inform the other parties about your leave and help them to find the other member who would work with them in collaboration.
If you are doing this, it automatically shows that you are aware of all the ongoing projects and understand the importance of the functioning/completion of work.
- You should always end your mail by stating your availability or unavailability in emergencies. If you are available in an emergency, you can provide your contact information.
At the same time, if you are unavailable or will be entirely out of reach, it’s better to give any other team members’ contact information during an emergency. You can also try to provide them with a list of individuals who are aware of your projects and can be of great use during your absence.
A Pro Tip
Always ensure that you provide all the necessary information to the manager to provide open and transparent communication. Even if the manager calls or asks you about the leave application, you should be clear to avoid any miscommunication; that’s why you should always be honest in your e-mails.
Furthermore, you should have clarity about your company’s policy on vacation. It may happen that your company would have a policy of informing the recruiter in advance, so it’s always better to stick with this kind of approach to avoid any kind of misunderstanding.
If you want an emergency leave, providing a very accurate reason to the human resource department and your manager will always be better.
You can also schedule your vacations during the slow work seasons because it will be much better and easier for you to get the holidays. Even if you have completed large projects for your company, you can also ask for a few days’ leave to relieve your mind and come up with a fresh mind after a few days.
What Format Should You Follow in a Leave Application?
As we are discussing a work leave, always ensure that you are writing your emails very professionally and not using any informal tone. The message should sound polite, a perfect out-of-office vacation message, and a point of the contact person. Professional messages or emails are always the best ideas, but always avoid oversharing of information and make it much more professional.
FORMAT
Subject : [Your name]- vacation request date
Dear [Your manager’s name]
This is a formal request for [no. of days] vacation leave, starting from next [Day/Date of starting vacation] and [Day/Date of ending vacation]. I have already informed my team members in advance, and they would happily cover all my responsibilities during my absence. So, I request you to please approve my vacation.
If you have any questions during emergencies, then feel free to reach out to me by phone [contact information] or my work email id [mention the mail id]. You can also reach out to the concerned person [name of the person] of my team at this no. [person in charge contact no.].
Thank you for considering my request
Regards
[Your name]
You can use this template by simply adding your personal information like name, contact information, dates, etc.
What Can You do to Maintain Proper Workflow, Even When You are on Leave?
Now, every vacation mail does not mean that you are completely out of network or will not be reachable at all. If you would have been working on any critical projects, then it will be mandatory for you to at least check or respond to the phone calls or emails in emergencies.
In such a condition, you can mention every detail about your phone number or the concerned person’s phone number in the automatic vacation responder message. Always avoid providing very detailed information about why, where, and in what situation you took leave. Be concise but provide enough information to continue the work in the office.
Read More: What Are Some Good Excuses to Leave Work Early?
What To Do If The Manager Refuses to Give You Leave?
There have been several situations when the manager doesn’t know about the importance of vacations in one’s life. In such a situation, you can always remind or provide them the evidence about the projects that you have worked on and how it has drained your capacity to come to the office daily with a clear mind.
Tell them that you want some time to come back fresh and be more productive very clearly. This will benefit you and the company as it will help in better productivity and motivation in coming to the office daily.
Before doing so, ensure that you are following the company policy of asking for leave so that the manager would not have any other option to refuse. In the end, it should always be professional and should not threaten the manager.
Conclusion
A mail requesting a vacation is a formal or professional way of asking your supervisor or manager for leave or vacation. The reason for your break or holiday should be appropriately mentioned in the mail so that they would get an idea about your schedules.
It’s normal to say that you want a rest from work or you need to travel with your family to spend family time. No employer wants its employees to go through mental trauma or stress. They always want you to come to the office with a clear mind so that you would give them quality work. So whatever the reason is, it is entirely normal to state the real cause instead of lying.
To maintain better communication among the team members, requesting the manager or supervisor by using a professional email method instead of verbally is essential. This will also help them to manage your activities by assigning them to someone else or making arrangements in your absence.
