Teams etiquette

[Fudgeytastic]

I’m not sure if it’s me being too sensitive but Teams etiquette in my new role has gone out the window!

I’m showing as red / busy. Surely you would message someone to see if they are free to talk before steaming in with a call?

Red - In a meeting. Just do not call when I’m in a meeting!!

Do not disturb - message me and I’ll call you back. I do not wish to be disturbed by a call.

Yellow / away. For the love of god, WHY CALL WHEN I AM CLEARLY NOT AT MY DESK?!

I’m having a bad day, can you tell? Or am I being too precious?

You can make it send everyone to voicemail. Or mute the ringtone. Or lots of variations to find something that works for you.

There isn’t really etiquette. Different places just adopted different unwritten rules when teams was implemented, which for most people was just as Covid hit so it wasn’t gradually introduced and teething problems ironed out. Everyone just picked up the etiquette for where they were at the time and that became their norm. Some places call without asking first, some places ask first. It depends a bit on the culture too.

If this is a new role and it is multiple people doing this, then it’s probably the culture there. If this is one person, then they will do that to everyone and I’m sure if you ask “does james from accounts always ring you without asking first” you’ll find out what your colleagues have done to manage them.

If you can answer, answer.
If you can't answer, don't answer.

If it disturbs you, set to silent or put on the answerphone.

Just treat it like a telephone in the olden days.

People don't have to think in depth about your availability, that's for you to manage.

Someone from my office does this, just 1 person so I suppose I'm quite lucky.

I was on annual leave on Friday with an out of office on saying I'd be back Monday and he tried to call me!

The problem is that red doesn't always mean that you are busy/in a meeting. My boss does this frequently, gets invited to numerous irrelevant meetings but instead of declining the invites, she just ignores them. This means she shows red at that time even though she hasn't joined the meeting.

I suspect that the etiquette has dropped off a bit since COVID and Teams has become more like a phone nowadays, and a lot of people don’t bother looking at people’s status and just call - if they’re free they’ll answer if not they won’t.
It’s annoying absolutely. Though I confess I’ve probably done it a couple of times without thinking too.

That’s what do not disturb is for…off you don’t want calls it stops them

You shouldn't be seeing call alerts when on DND. Check your settings.

Red doesn't mean much; if you have something in your Outlook calendar you will show as red, even if you're not in a meeting.

I've called people who show as Away when it was urgent, and about 50% of the time they turn green and answer.

You need to take control of your time management and reject calls when appropriate. You can't expect everyone else to do it for you.

My team does pay attention to Teams status’s and wouldn’t try starting a call if someone is on red. They’d send a message instead asking for a call when they’re free.

Having said that, I’ve never known anyone to just start a call out of the blue even if the person shows as available. They would always message first to make sure it’s a good time to call.

Disagree with yellow. Mine goes yellow when I don't interact with teams. I'm there, I'm working, but showing yellow on teams.

DND mutes everything for me unless a "priority contact".

Sometimes I still just mark myself offline 🫢 tbf usually only if I'm finishing something urgent and about to go on leave so literally not able to pick up anything new.

You are not being too sensitive. You are being utterly ridiculous.

There is no way in hell I am going to waste my time checking and rechecking your status until it is green if I need to get in touch. This does not harm anyone.

If your status is yellow because you are away from your desk, I will send you a message to which you can reply once you return. Do you really think your colleagues are so stupid that they expect you to immediately answer them?

Perhaps you are even sat at your desk but not moving your mouse for some reason - then it’s even easier for you to respond!

There are often meetings which finish early, which aren’t attended or which do not need your full attention. If your status is red, you might still be able to reply. There are people who are red almost all the time because their calendars are so full. These people still need to be contacted somehow.

You sound like hard work.

God never even thought about it. I call or message and people answer when they answer. Same for me. I might be showing green but doesn't mean I'll answer the call 🤣

As PP have said, red can just mean that time was booked for a meeting but the person might not be in the meeting. I often accept one hour slots where the meeting ends much sooner. My Teams shows red but I am free. Don't answer if you're busy. This is work, if it's during working hours, it's perfectly legitimate for people to call you.

Its the remote working version of approaching a colleague who's clearly working intently and asking 'are you busy?', or knocking on a door that says don't disturb and saying 'it's only me! Sorry, but I only wanted....' People who want something will chance their arm. Either because the 'barrier' isn't really in place, or because they think they have something important enough to get through regardless.

I have never in my working life expected to not be disturbed, no matter how intently I’m working.

I might have to tell people I’m busy or I’ll get back to them but if I’m approached I’ll engage.

I’m not sure what the difference between working and “working intently” is.

I'm regularly sat at my desk doing something which would mean people can call me but either I'm yellow as I'm doing something offline/ watching a meeting playback/ just sat staring into space thinking/ on Mumsnet for 5 minutes OR I'm red because I was in a meeting that finished/ I've blocked time out to do something but it's not like I can't be disturbed.

I'd I don't want people to contact me I go offline or DND, normally offline as for some reason DND lets everyone in my team through even though they're not priority contacts

What annoys me is people just messaging Hi

What do you want?

Its the facial expression you put on, slight frown, eyes glued to screen, and a quickening of typing pace from lack lustre to furious when you spot Dull Dave from IT approaching in your peripheral vision, or hear your boss say "Does anyone have a moment to...."

And people who type whilst you’re typing! Wait for me to say what I’m saying! 😆

yeah I always message before trying to call anyone. I had a manager who would just call without messaging first and it annoyed me because even though I was showing as available, I was usually in the middle of something.

If your status is yellow because you are away from your desk, I will send you a message to which you can reply once you return. Do you really think your colleagues are so stupid that they expect you to immediately answer them?

OP is talking about CALLS, not messages.

I never call someone without messaging first and usually at least 15 mins notice, but we aren't particularly 'chatty' and can do most things by message.

When you're red it's blindingly obvious that you're busy but a lot of people don't think that waiting applies to them or are just plain ignorant. It's about 50/50.

It's excruciating when someone's in a meeting and presenting.

Oh jeez am I your boss? 😂 I have lots of stuff added to my diary and often don’t need to go. People call me regardless. Sometimes I can answer, other times I can’t. Our diaries are all open so we can see what’s in.

What does annoy me is people who don’t charge up their mobile phones any more. Not everyone is always at a screen and sometimes a call whilst I’m walking or off site can resolve quite a few quick issues. Except it doesn’t when they’re only available on Teams.

I give up with do not disturb or busy. Everyone ignores it. I just log out if I really need peace!

I often show as red as i’ve set a reminder in my calendar to do something, so its worth calling me as I’ll answer if I can. If I can’t, I won’t.