The Two Concepts That Get Confused
If you ask Microsoft Teams users to describe their "status" right now, you'll get one of two answers: either "Available" (a presence indicator) or "Working on the Q3 report" (a status message). Both are correct — and that's the source of the confusion. Teams has two separate concepts that share the everyday word "status," and they work in completely different ways.
Understanding the difference is the first step in making your Teams visibility work for you instead of against you.
Presence: the coloured dot
Presence is the small coloured circle next to your name. There are eight possible states — Available (green check), Busy (red square), Do Not Disturb (red minus), Be Right Back (yellow clock), Away (yellow clock), Appear Away (yellow clock), Offline (grey), Out of Office (purple). Each communicates a specific availability level at a glance.
Presence is set in three ways:
- Automatically by activity: Teams detects mouse/keyboard input → Available. No input for ~5 min → Away.
- Automatically by calendar: You're in a meeting → Busy. Out-of-office reply enabled → Out of Office.
- Manually: Right-click avatar, set Available/Away/Busy/DnD/BRB/Appear Away. Briefly overrides automatic — Teams will revert if signals don't follow.
Status message: the free-text label
A status message is a short text string you set manually. It appears in tooltips when colleagues hover your name, and at the top of any new chat they open with you. Examples: "Working from home," "In a meeting until 3pm," "Heads down today — please email," "On call: pager only."
Status messages are entirely your choice. Teams never sets one automatically. Some Microsoft 365 integrations can suggest them (e.g., "I'll be back at 2pm" based on calendar gaps), but they require your confirmation to apply.
How They Combine
The two concepts are independent. You can be:
- Available with "Working on quarterly report" — green dot, helpful context
- Do Not Disturb with "Don't ping unless urgent" — red minus, explicit message
- Away with no status message at all — yellow clock, no extra info
- Busy with "In a 1:1 — call my mobile if urgent" — red square, with escalation path
The combinations matter because colleagues read both. A green dot says "ping me." A status message says "but here's the context." Together they're far more useful than either alone.
Why People Use Them Poorly
The most common mistake: setting a thoughtful status message ("In meetings all morning, will respond after 1pm") and then losing it because Teams auto-switches you to Available and the status message gets ignored in the visual rush. Status messages need to be paired with a presence that matches.
The second most common: relying on automatic presence and hoping colleagues read between the lines. If you're Away because the inactivity timer fired (not because you stepped out), a colleague who pings you and gets no immediate response may wrongly conclude you're not at your desk.
The third: setting Do Not Disturb without a status message explaining why or for how long. Colleagues see the red icon and assume "later" — but later could be in an hour or in a day. A clear status message ("DnD until 2pm — quarterly review") removes the ambiguity.
Best Practice: Pair Them Intentionally
The most professionally-managed Teams presence pairs the right indicator with the right message:
- For focused work: Do Not Disturb + "Focus block until 11am. Slack me if urgent."
- For meetings: Busy (set automatically by calendar) + an empty status message — calendar makes context clear.
- For travel/out-of-office: Out of Office + "Out of office Mar 4–8. Sarah is point of contact: sarah@..."
- For asynchronous work: Available + "PT timezone. Async after 4pm."
Where Stay Green On Teams Fits
Stay Green On Teams manages your presence indicator, not your status message. When you're configured to be Available, the green check appears beside your name. Status messages remain entirely your domain — set them, leave them blank, or pair them with intentional context as you see fit.
The combination is powerful. Stay Green ensures you appear Available during the hours you've defined. You pair that with a thoughtful status message that communicates what you're doing. Colleagues see both — the right colour dot and the right context — and can make accurate decisions about when and how to engage with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Teams presence and Teams status?
Presence is the coloured dot beside your name (Available, Away, Busy, etc.) — set automatically by activity or calendar, or manually. Status is a free-text message you write (like 'Working from home' or 'In meeting until 3pm') — always manual. They're independent and can be combined in any way.
Can I have a status message while showing as Available?
Yes. The status message is independent of the presence indicator. You can be Available with any status message, or have a status message with any presence (Busy, Away, DnD, etc.).
Does Microsoft Teams set status messages automatically?
No — status messages are always set manually. Some Microsoft 365 integrations may suggest them based on calendar events, but applying them requires your confirmation.
Why doesn't my status message show when I'm Available?
Status messages don't always appear prominently when you're Available. They show in tooltips when colleagues hover your name and at the top of new chats. If you want the message to be more visible, pair it with a non-Available presence (Busy, DnD) — the contrast draws more attention.
How do I clear my status message?
Click your avatar in Teams, choose 'Set status message,' and clear the text field. Save. Your status message is now blank. Your presence indicator remains whatever it was before.
Does Stay Green On Teams change my status message?
No. Stay Green manages only the presence indicator (the coloured dot). Your status message is yours — set it, change it, or leave it blank as you prefer.