If the user is going to be out of the office (OOO), they can set their OOO settings using their personal OOO settings. Those same settings are available here so administrators can change it for the user if they leave without setting it, change the Alternate User, etc.


When a user is OOO, any new workflow items are automatically directed to the Alternate User. When the user is back in the office, the workflow items will NOT automatically be reassigned to the user. That will have to be done by a reporting user or the alternate user can reassign it back to this user.


Out Of Office

Set this to Out of Office when gone or In Office when now out. 


Alternate User

If the user is OOO then you need to select the user who covers for them while they are out.


Coming back

When you set a user back to In the Office and save, workflow steps that are set up to do so hand the items their alternate received on their behalf back to them automatically. A message tells you how many came back, and both them and their alternate receive an email summary. Items their alternate has already completed, routed on, or reassigned to someone else are not affected, and an item their alternate was assigned in their own right, for example as a member of the same team, stays with them. On steps that are not set up to hand items back, their  alternate keeps them.