To ask, if you work remotely/from home do you worry about your Teams status going yellow/'Away'

Would you really get in trouble if it went on yellow, even though you're doing your job? This is so sad!
I set mine to ''offline' purely because I don't want colleagues to know I'm around so I can actually do some meaningful work without being disturbed.

Are you the OP? I wasn't replying to you but to @cakeorwine
As I stated in an earlier post if your job is based on taking phone calls then you do have to concern yourself with availability. However, the Teams status is not the issue, but the speed of replying.

You can also add a message to the status instead of the dots, so say 'away short break' or whatever. The coloured dots are so unreliable nobody IME bothers

I've WFH for a k'zillion years (possibly an exageration) on a self-employed basis way before it became an established 'way to work'. Forced into it due to caring responsibilities, but better than being unemployed; although decades of work experience and various qualifications (to Post-grad) have helped too.

Properly wfh involves being able to overcome any work-related difficulty from the comfort of your own home. And actually doing the work too. It really is that simple.

All the tips and tricks are great - except when you’re showing as on a call/or green but messages aren’t picked up and calls go to voicemail !

Open PowerPoint and hit ‘present in Teams’.

Ditto. 😬

I’m a lecturer and do one day at home, the rest on campus. One day last year a student commented in a message about my status being “away” and that it looked “unprofessional” - I was teaching a class on campus, nowhere near Teams! I moved my status to “offline” then and have never changed it back. My manager knows I do a good job and pick up messages at all hours but screw students monitoring my online activity!

Open notepad and put something a little heavy on the space bar.

Buy a mouse mover, it’s a rotating pad your mouse sits on to keep it moving. But if you’re doing your work then I wouldn’t worry about it.

I don’t pay it any attention to be honest. No one pays it any attention, and as long as the work gets done my employer couldn’t care less - we’re treated like adults and trusted to manage our workload.

@CalisthenicsOnDemand yes because my job isn't based on output, it's based on taking phone calls
So if I'm not doing that, I'm not doing my job

I wouldn't worry about it if it's a few times per day, you're allowed loo breaks etc.
Having said that, we had new starters during the pandemic that were away a lot, and management did pick up on it and take action. Step one of the action plan was to account to management for exactly what they did all day, which fixed the problem as they were then at their desks working for most of the day.
I wouldn't change your settings to stop you showing as away when you're inactive, as colleagues might think you're ignoring their calls/chats if they call while you're "available" but you've popped to the loo.

I block out time in my diary that says 'deep work'. But my calendar isn't public to anyone except for my line manager anyway. So nobody cares.
Does your workplace really insist on people accounting for all their time, asking what they are doing?

Even in an office setting people go for walks etc.

Wouldn't need to be forced!!

Just being able to have time to problem solve in the best way possible without the worry of someone saying "what are you doing"

I have been known to be walking at the weekends and suddenly found a creative solution to a problem. I then ring myself and leave myself a message, Then I carry on with my day

@C8H10N4O2 you can say if you need more but on a general rule we have 2 breaks, lunch and then 10 mins to go
If I need more I just say I might be over my 10 mins today

I work in a similar role, my team and I wouldn't take too kindly to forced 'Lego time'. But we have the flexibility to do what works best! Some of us like taking walks, others doodling, daydreaming (as mentioned in the article!) etc. Some prefer a big chunk of work in the day, 3 hour break in-between and carrying on at night. No issue as long as they make their scheduled meetings (which I as lead try to minimise). Teams availability isn't a measure of productivity and slacking is quite immediately obvious.

Roles focused on availability and communication however can't get away with that. Some Executive Assistants at work were always unavailable on Teams - they got let go in the latest round of redundancies.

If I’m going to have a nap (I have some health issues at the moment) I will put myself in a meeting with just me / share my screen to it stays as presenting / busy until I come back to my computer.

That sounds depressing.

My role is a lot of problem solving and thinking about things. I am just looking to propose "Lego time" or similar as it's been proven to help with problem solving as doing such things helps your mind wander and come up with creative solutions to problems.

The science behind creativity (apa.org)

Let your mind wander....

But I am not sure how that would go down. Just doing something not too intense for the brain, but away from the task and your mind wanders and comes up with fresh ideas.

Beats having to be constantly at a screen wriggling a mouse.

Bookmark.

I turn mine off and only check it for messages a couple of times a days.

It is mainly used by people for endless chats about non-work related rubbish so it was too distracting to keep on...

I do a lot of techie stuff and copywriting so I need to be able to concentrate without constant trivial interruption.

The cleverest thing I can remember during mass WFH in lock down was someone who attached their mouse to a fan .. one of those that swivels.. and spent the day sunbathing..:

Needless to say her productivity plummeted... and was called back to the office .. !

I am like you OP .. I work FAR harder from home, no office chitchat .. fast toilet breaks and feel bad if my light goes yellow.. then again I have not been recalled to the office and have worked from home since Feb 2020.. saved me £500+ in commuting costs and my employer gets more out of me .. so they are happy for it to continue.

I never worry about it. Having said that I work very long hours anyway

I manage a large team. We are in the office two days and WFH three. I only look at status to check someone is free if I need to call them!

everyone pees, has lunch, grabs a coffee. And shock horror reads something on actual paper, takes a work call on a mobile phone, or jots down thoughts or plans using paper and pen!

dont stress. Only bad managers obsess about green lights

I wonder how that ten minute rule would stand up in a discrimination case? Micturition and gynae/period issues requiring more frequent or longer loo trips disproportionately affect women.

Call centres often monitor operative call stats fiercely - they should be able to monitor call performance quite enough without limiting staff access to the loo!