Where to find and change your work hours in Teams
Microsoft Teams lets you set work hours so colleagues know when you are available. Your work hours appear in your profile and affect your status — if someone messages you outside these hours, Teams can mark you as away even if you are signed in. You change this setting in your profile, not in a separate menu.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Teams on your computer or phone, but the setting lives in the same place: your profile card. Once you set your hours, they stay in effect across all your devices unless you change them again.
Key Takeaways
- Work hours in Teams are set through your profile card, accessible from the top right of the app on desktop or from your profile picture on mobile.
- You can set different work hours for each day of the week, and Teams will show you as away outside these times even if you remain signed in.
- Your work hours sync across all devices where you use Teams, so you only need to set them once.
- If you do not set work hours, your status depends only on whether you are actively using Teams, not on the time of day.
Changing work hours on Teams desktop
Open Teams on your computer and look for your profile picture in the top right corner. Click it to open a menu. Select Profile from the dropdown. This opens your profile card with your name, job title, and contact information.
On your profile card, look for the Work hours section. If you do not see it immediately, scroll down — it appears below your contact details. Click Edit work hours or the pencil icon next to the work hours section. A window opens where you can set hours for each day of the week.
For each day, you will see two time fields: a start time and an end time. Click the start time field and enter when your workday begins. Click the end time field and enter when it ends. You can set different hours for different days — for example, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and nothing for Saturday and Sunday. Leave a day blank if you do not work that day.
Once you have entered all your hours, click Save at the bottom of the window. Teams saves your work hours immediately, and they take effect right away.
Changing work hours on Teams mobile
Open Teams on your phone and tap your profile picture at the bottom of the screen. This opens your profile. Tap Edit profile or the pencil icon. Scroll down until you see Work hours.
Tap Add work hours or the edit button next to work hours. You will see a list of days with time fields for each. Tap the start time for the first day you work, enter the time, and tap the end time field to enter when your workday ends. Repeat for each day you work. On mobile, the process is slower than on desktop, so take your time with each field.
When you have finished entering all your hours, tap Save or Done at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your phone type. Your work hours are now set and will appear to colleagues viewing your profile.
What happens when you set work hours
Once work hours are active, Teams uses them to set your status automatically. If someone sends you a message outside your work hours, you will appear as Away to them, even if you are actively using Teams. During your work hours, your status shows as Available if you are using the app, or Away if you have not interacted with it for a few minutes.
Your work hours also appear on your profile card so colleagues can see when you normally work. This is especially useful if you work across time zones or have a non-standard schedule. Colleagues can see your hours before they message you, which helps them know whether to expect a quick response.
If you do not set work hours, your status depends only on your activity in Teams — it will not change based on the time of day. This means you will appear available even at midnight if you are actively using the app.
Changing or removing work hours
To change your work hours, follow the same steps you used to set them: open your profile, find the work hours section, and click edit. You can adjust the times, add days you did not have before, or remove days you no longer work. Save your changes when you are done.
To remove work hours entirely, open the edit window and delete all the times you entered, leaving every day blank. Click save. Teams will no longer use work hours to set your status, and your status will depend only on whether you are actively using the app.
Changes to your work hours take effect immediately across all devices. If you change your hours on your phone, the change appears on your desktop within seconds, and vice versa.
Troubleshooting work hours that are not showing
If you set work hours but they do not appear on your profile or are not affecting your status, first check that you actually saved your changes. Close the edit window and reopen your profile to confirm the hours are there. If they are not, you may have closed the window without saving.
If your work hours are set but your status is not changing based on them, sign out of Teams completely and sign back in. This refreshes your status settings. On desktop, click your profile picture, select Sign out, wait a few seconds, and sign back in. On mobile, swipe left on your profile picture at the bottom and tap Sign out.
If you are still having trouble after signing out and back in, check that your Teams app is up to date. Older versions of Teams sometimes do not support work hours properly. On desktop, Teams usually updates automatically, but you can force an update by closing the app completely and reopening it. On mobile, check your app store for updates to Teams.
Using work hours with other Teams features
Work hours in Teams work alongside other status settings. If you set your status to Do Not Disturb manually, that overrides your work hours — you will appear as Do Not Disturb even during your work hours. When you clear the Do Not Disturb status, your work hours take over again.
Some organizations use Teams with Outlook calendar integration. If your calendar is connected, Teams may automatically set your status based on your calendar events, which can override your work hours. Check with your IT department if you are unsure whether your organization has this set up.
Work hours also affect notifications. Many Teams users set their notification settings to mute notifications outside work hours, so they do not get pinged at night or on weekends. This is a separate setting from work hours, but the two work well together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set different work hours for different days of the week?
Yes. When you edit your work hours, you can set a unique start and end time for each day. For example, you can work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Leave any day blank if you do not work that day.
Will my work hours show to everyone in my organization?
Your work hours appear on your profile card, which colleagues can view. However, only people who look at your profile will see them. Your work hours do not broadcast to the entire organization — they are there for people who want to check before messaging you.
What if I work a night shift or non-standard hours?
You can set any hours you want, including night shifts. Enter your actual start and end times, even if they span midnight or fall outside typical business hours. Teams will use those hours to set your status, regardless of when they occur.
Do work hours affect my calendar or meeting availability?
Work hours in Teams are separate from your Outlook calendar. They only affect your status in Teams, not your calendar availability or whether you can be scheduled for meetings. Your calendar settings are controlled through Outlook, not Teams.
If I change my work hours, when do they take effect?
Work hours changes take effect immediately. Once you save, your new hours are active across all devices within seconds. Colleagues will see your updated status based on the new hours right away.