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If you only need to change today’s hours or work location, Outlook’s calendar also provides a one-day option. Teams can change your work location for the rest of the current day, but it does not currently provide the editor for recurring work hours.
Change recurring work hours in new Outlook or Outlook on the web
These steps apply to a work or school account using a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Open new Outlook for Windows or go to Outlook on the web.
- Select Settings—the gear icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Calendar.
- Open Work hours and location.
- Select the checkboxes for the days you work.
- For each selected day, use the start-time and end-time menus to set your hours.
- If required, choose your recurring work location for each day, such as remote work, office work, or a configured building.
- Select Save.
You can assign different hours to different days. For example, you might set Monday through Friday to 8:00 AM–4:30 PM, then use a later 10:00 AM start on Wednesday. The modern settings also support split work periods when your schedule requires more than one interval during a day.
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Change work hours for only one day
Use this option for an appointment, a late start, an early finish, or a temporary change that should not alter your weekly schedule.
- Open Calendar in new Outlook or Outlook on the web.
- Find the relevant date.
- Select Work plan on that day. The icon may look different if the day is already marked as remote or in-office.
- Adjust the working hours.
- If you are working remotely, select I work remotely.
- If you are working in an office, choose a building if your organization has configured its building directory.
- Select Set.
This changes the plan for that date rather than replacing your recurring weekly hours.
Change work hours in classic Outlook for Windows
Classic Outlook still has the older work-time controls. They are useful if your organization has not moved you to the modern Outlook experience, but they are more limited.
- Open Outlook and switch to Calendar.
- Select File.
- Select Options.
- Select Calendar.
- Under Work time, change the Start time and End time.
- Select or clear the work-week days.
- Adjust First day of week or First week of year if needed.
- Select OK.
Classic Outlook uses one start time and one end time for the whole work week. It cannot represent separate recurring schedules such as 8:00 AM–5:00 PM on Monday and 10:00 AM–7:00 PM on Wednesday.
Modern versus classic Outlook work-hour settings
| Outlook experience | Where to change the hours | Different hours by day? |
|---|---|---|
| New Outlook for Windows | Settings > Calendar > Work hours and location | Yes |
| Outlook on the web | Settings > Calendar > Work hours and location | Yes |
| Classic Outlook for Windows | File > Options > Calendar > Work time | No; one range for the week |
| Teams | Account manager > Set work location | No recurring work-hours editor |
Change today’s work location in Teams
If your actual goal is to tell colleagues where you are working today, Teams can handle that separately from your hours.
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Teams desktop
- Select your account manager or profile picture at the top right.
- Select Set work location.
- Choose an available location.
- To identify a particular office, select Add a building, then choose one of the organization’s configured buildings.
To change or remove it later, select the account manager, select your current work location, and then choose the option to change or clear it. The change applies to the remainder of the current day and is reflected in Teams and Outlook.
Teams mobile
- Select your profile picture at the top left.
- Select Set your work location.
- Choose the available location.
This mobile setting also applies only to the rest of the day. It does not set recurring start and end times.
What colleagues see after you change your hours
Your work hours can appear on Microsoft 365 profile cards, and the displayed times are converted to the viewer’s time zone. Work location is shown only during your configured working hours.
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Changes made in Outlook may take up to 12 hours to appear on profile cards. Therefore, a colleague may temporarily see your old schedule even after you saved the new one.
Location labels can also indicate how the setting was created:
- A recurring Outlook plan may appear as Planned in.
- A same-day update may appear as Working from.
- A remote location may appear as Working remotely.
If both Outlook and Teams set a location for the same day, the latest update takes precedence. A same-day location update replaces the earlier location for that date.
Why your new Outlook hours may not appear in classic Outlook
Modern and legacy work-hour settings do not always overwrite each other. Before modern work hours are configured, changes to legacy work hours can update the modern times. Once modern work hours have been set up or updated, later changes to classic Outlook’s work hours do not overwrite the modern schedule.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe work-hours time zone is an exception: changing the legacy working-hours time zone still updates the modern work-hours time zone.
If your modern schedule has different ranges on different days, classic Outlook approximates it with the earliest start and latest end. For example, modern hours of 8:00 AM–5:00 PM on some days and 10:00 AM–7:00 PM on others may appear in the legacy system as approximately 8:00 AM–7:00 PM.
Work hours, Teams status, and Shifts are different settings
Teams presence status
Changing your Teams status to Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Be right back, or Away changes your presence—not your scheduled work hours. The same applies to Teams status commands such as:
/available
/busy
/dnd
/brb
/away
/offlineThese commands do not edit the Outlook schedule shown on profile cards.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesShifts availability
Shifts has a separate availability feature for frontline scheduling. In the Shifts mobile app:
- Open Shifts.
- On the home screen, tap +.
- Tap Set availability.
- Choose Recurring or Specific dates.
- Set Available, All Day, or specific availability times.
- Tap Save.
Shifts availability tells a manager when you can work shifts. It does not change the ordinary Microsoft 365 work hours used for profile cards and meeting availability. Microsoft’s current instructions provide this editing option in the Shifts mobile app, not Shifts desktop or web.
If the work-hours setting is missing
- Confirm that you are signed in with a work or school account, not a personal Microsoft account.
- Try Outlook on the web or new Outlook for Windows. The modern setup is not the same as the classic Outlook work-time page.
- Check whether your Microsoft 365 subscription and organization support the feature.
- Allow time for profile cards to refresh; Outlook changes can take up to 12 hours to propagate.
- If you are using classic Outlook, remember that it cannot set separate hours for individual weekdays.
- In government environments, Microsoft specifically notes that work location is not yet available in classic Outlook for Windows with GCC High.
If your organization has not configured its office-building directory, you may see general office or remote choices without an option to select a specific building.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Privacy of work-location details
Work-location sharing is opt-in: you share it by setting a work location. People in your organization can generally see the shared location details in near real time. In Outlook’s Work hours and location settings, clear Share office location details if you do not want viewers to see a specific building. They can still see the general in-office or remote status when applicable.
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FAQ
Can I change recurring work hours directly in Microsoft Teams?
No. Teams currently lets you set or change your work location for the remainder of the current day. Use new Outlook for Windows or Outlook on the web and go to Settings > Calendar > Work hours and location to edit recurring hours.
Can Outlook use different work hours on different days?
Yes, in new Outlook and Outlook on the web. Select each working day and assign its own start and end times. Classic Outlook uses one start and one end time for the entire work week.
How do I change only today’s working hours?
In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, open Calendar, select Work plan on the relevant date, make the change, and select Set.
Why are colleagues still seeing my old work hours?
Microsoft says Outlook changes can take up to 12 hours to appear on Microsoft 365 profile cards. The viewer’s time zone can also make the displayed times look different.
Does changing my Teams status change my work hours?
No. Available, Busy, Do not disturb, Away, and other Teams presence statuses are separate from the recurring work-hours schedule.
Does setting a work location change my work hours?
No. A work-location change identifies where you are working. In Teams, it applies for the remainder of the current day and does not change recurring start and end times.
The Bottom Line
For a recurring schedule, use Outlook > Settings > Calendar > Work hours and location in new Outlook or Outlook on the web. Use Calendar’s Work plan for a one-day adjustment, and use Teams only when you need to update today’s work location. Classic Outlook can still change basic work time, but it supports only one time range for the whole week.
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