
Many individuals frequently utilize Microsoft Teams to communicate with colleagues, both within the office and remotely. It is widely regarded as one of the most effective tools for maintaining contact with team members. However, what should you do if you need to inform others that you are not available? Microsoft Teams offers a feature that allows you to set an “Out of Office” status on your profile, indicating when you will be unavailable for an afternoon, an extended vacation, or a prolonged period.
Where to Set Up Your ‘Out of Office’ Status in Teams
It is crucial to understand that your Microsoft Teams and Outlook calendars are synchronized, including your out-of-office status and automatic replies. Any status set in Microsoft Teams will be reflected in Outlook and vice versa. Notably, setting this status in Outlook is often simpler.
“Out of Office” Status for Microsoft Teams
YouTube/Breakwater IT To set your “Out of Office” status, click on your profile icon in Teams and select “Schedule an out of office” as a shortcut to the settings area. Alternatively, click the three-dot icon next to your profile icon, navigate to Settings > General, and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the out-of-office settings. Click Schedule, toggle on automatic replies, and enter a message specifying the duration of your unavailability. This status will only be visible to internal contacts. If you save at this stage, you must manually turn off automatic replies upon your return, as no time and date settings are available here.
For automatic replies outside your organization, select “Send replies outside my organization” and enter your message. Then, choose “Send replies during a time period” and set the dates for your absence. Click Save, and the information will synchronize with both Teams and Outlook.
How to Set an ‘Out of Office’ Reminder on Teams
Once your “Out of Office” status is set in Microsoft Teams, you can create a reminder message that appears in your chats, notifying colleagues of your unavailability without requiring them to email you. Click your profile icon, go to “Schedule an out of office,” or select “Set Status Message” to notify colleagues of your absence.
In the dropdown menu from your profile icon, select “Set Status Message,” and type your message. When someone messages you, this status will appear in the chat, though it does not sync with Outlook and is not considered an official “Out of Office” status.