Users are applauding a Microsoft Teams feature that appears to be a workaround for employees who want it to look like they’re on the clock while working from home.
TikTok user Griffin Kibens (@griffinnkibens) posted a video showing users how to mark their Microsoft Teams status as “available” for whatever desired duration they choose. Kibens’ video has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
Kibens captioned the video “PSA Microsoft Teams updates lets you set your status for a specific duration now.”
“IYKYK,” she added (IYKYK is shorthand for the phrase “if you know, you know”).
Microsoft seemed to enjoy the engagement Kibens’ post was getting and commented, “booked and busy” with a green checkmark emoji.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kibens for further comment.
Viewers largely thanked Kibens for the tip, with some hinting at the myriad of ways they hope to use it. Others were saddened to realize their account didn’t permit them to use the “available” option.
“My work has disabled this option,” user JM (@@mini_bish) said.
“My company blocked the update after having it out for like 2 weeks,” user Cee (@bug222222) said.
Some also argued that they’d rather set their status to “busy” rather than “available”—that way they could further limit their work interactions.
“The problem is that when you are available people start calling you,” user Bonnie (@bonniethepersonaltrainer) said.
“I’m always on Busy even when I’m not even remotely busy,” user Alexandra Negoita (@alepinkiepie) said.
“Mine stays on busy,” user @mcttie said. “I am not here to chit chat.”
@griffinnkibens IYKYK #microsoftteams #staygreen #update ♬ Lovin On Me – Jack Harlow
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge of people working from home and becoming full-time remote workers. With this transition came hacks people used to appear like they were online during work hours. Business Insider reported how a productivity managing software called Lurk from Home launched to help remote workers have regular breaks while still triggering activity on work communication platforms such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. In a 2019 Quickbook survey of remote workers, more than 64% of remote workers said they sometimes tend to personal tasks during the day, while 23% said they never spend their workday completing personal task.
