Worker's 'Inappropriate' Out Of Office Emails Keep Getting Her In Trouble With Her Boss — 'Let Me Know If I'm Overreacting'
She insisted that her out-of-office emails were supposed to be fun and quirky.
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock A woman is doubling down on her out-of-office emails after she was pulled aside by her boss on numerous occasions because they've been labeled as "unprofessional."
In a TikTok video, Theo Moise asked her followers if she was overreacting because she was confused by her boss' reaction to her OOO emails, admitting that to her, those emails were supposed to be nothing but cute and quirky.
A worker said her out-of-office emails keep getting her in trouble with her boss.
"So, I keep getting the same talking to from my boss about the exact same situation that I just apparently am not learning from," Moise began in her TikTok video about the infamous out-of-office emails. "I wanted to bring it to you because you let me know if I'm buggin' because I don't really understand."
Moise explained that she'd been writing these out-of-office emails and they are super cute, right? At first, they were fun little stories about adventures involving squirrels and sharks. And they would just be really fun, really fun little stories that you can read when I’m not there," Moise said.
The worker's boss insisted her 'fun' out-of-office messages were unprofessional.
However, Moise's boss quickly intervened and told her that she couldn't have these as her out-of-office emails because they weren't professional, so Moise listened without complaint and changed them.
She started making the stories a bit more serious compared to how fun they were before. This time, they had historical context and fun facts in addition to being elaborate stories.
"And he again comes up to me and he’s like, 'No, they can’t be stories like that, you know, they need to be like professional.' So I was like okay, so I redid it again, and my most recent one is giving wellness tips," she continued.
"Like how to stretch at your desk, how to practice mindfulness, how to make sure that you get up and walk every 20 minutes if you spend a long time at your desk."
Once again, Moise's boss was unimpressed by her improved out-of-office emails and called her in for another conversation about it. He reiterated that they were unprofessional, and now confused, Moise questioned how that could be the case. "I just feel like my personality is being smothered by corporate America right now."
The worker admitted her OOO emails were never meant to be disrespectful but an opportunity for her to have a little bit of fun.
"I sincerely thought it was a missed opportunity to showcase personality," Moise said in an interview with People. "I just wanted to be creative and create a spark of joy in people's mundane 9 to 5. And when a few people gave me positive feedback about it, I thought my intentions worked; now, I am not sure if they were being sarcastic about it."
dimaberlinphotos | Canva Pro
Unfortunately, feeling creatively stifled in corporate America is nothing new. The rigid rules and expectations can be quite exhausting and downright annoying for people who just want to add some color to the workday, as Moise did with her quirky out-of-office emails.
From the way she described them, they don't seem to be harmful or inappropriate in the slightest, but rather a chance to make her co-workers laugh.
Sharing one of her latest emails with the publication, Moise detailed five different methods of mindfulness workers could implement while on the clock, including "desk meditation," not multitasking, and an end-of-day "gratitude check."
After a few more tips about what people could do to unwind at the end of a long and exhausting workday, Moise’s email provided details on who to contact while she was unavailable.
Moise admitted that she has no problem acknowledging when she's in the wrong and taking accountability, but for this, she's doubling down and sticking to the belief that her OOO emails are nothing but harmless fun. While we should definitely respect workplace standards, there should also be room for a bit of creativity every once in a while.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.