Over the past few years, there has been a significant rise in the number of people working flexibly and “non traditional” aka 9-5 work hours.

Many people work flexibly, but colleagues and customers might not be aware of your work hours. It can be frustrating when people contact you on your day off or expect a response to an email immediately.

A good way to overcome this is to update your email signature to include a statement of how you work flexibly and include you work days – really useful if you work part-time. Not everyone will read to the end of the email, but if people question your work hours, you can refer to email you sent them recently.

Here are 5 ideas for email footers to put below your email signature to inform people of your flexible work arrangements.

Which is your favourite?

I choose to work flexibly and send emails outside normal office hours. No need to respond to my emails outside yours.

Please note my work days are <<insert days>>

I sometimes work at irregular times, so if this email arrives in your inbox out of hours, I don’t expect you to read, action, or reply to it outside of your working hours.

I do not expect you to respond to my email outside your working hours. At <company name> we value and encourage flexible working, so please be assured that I respect your working pattern and look forward to your response when are you next at work and able to reply.

My workday may look different from your workday. Please do not feel obligated to respond outside of your normal working hours.

Best of luck in testing these email signatures and working flexibly. If you are looking for more tips and inspiration, be sure to check out the Working Mumma Podcast.