How to Set Your Working Hours and Location in Outlook
Outlook assumes everyone works 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, in the same place. If you start at 7, finish at 3, don't work Fridays or split your week between home and the office, tell it. Colleagues using the Scheduling Assistant will see your real availability, and your calendar will grey out the hours you're not around.
Quick reference
| Version | Where |
|---|---|
| New Outlook / web | Settings → Calendar → Work hours and location |
| Classic Outlook | File → Options → Calendar → Work time |
| Phone | Set on a computer; the app follows |
1. New Outlook and Outlook on the web
1. Click Settings → Calendar → Work hours and location.
2. Tick the days you work.
3. For each day, set your start and end time. Click + to add a split, such as 8–12 and 1–4.
4. Choose a location for each day: Office or Remote.
5. Click Save.
2. Tick the days you work.
3. For each day, set your start and end time. Click + to add a split, such as 8–12 and 1–4.
4. Choose a location for each day: Office or Remote.
5. Click Save.
Your calendar now greys out non-working hours in Day and Week view, and the Scheduling Assistant shows them as unavailable to colleagues.
2. Classic Outlook
1. Click File → Options → Calendar.
2. Under Work time, set the Start time and End time.
3. Tick your Work week days and set the First day of week.
4. Click OK.
2. Under Work time, set the Start time and End time.
3. Tick your Work week days and set the First day of week.
4. Click OK.
Classic Outlook can't store a different pattern for each day or a location — use Outlook on the web for that; the settings sync to your mailbox and classic Outlook respects them.
3. Show where you'll be each day
With work location set, new Outlook shows a small Office or Remote label at the top of each day in your calendar. Colleagues who open your calendar see it too, so "Are you in on Thursday?" answers itself.
Changed plans for one day? Click the location label on that day in the calendar and choose a different one — it only changes that day.
4. Change your hours for one week
Working hours are a pattern, not a diary. If you're doing different hours for a week, don't change the pattern — put an Out of Office or Busy block in your calendar for the times you're unavailable instead. The Scheduling Assistant treats it the same way.
5. Why it matters
• The Scheduling Assistant greys out your non-working time, so people pick sensible slots.
• Bookings pages (if you use them) only offer appointments inside your hours.
• Your calendar view starts at your real start time instead of showing hours of empty morning.
• Teams uses the same hours for its "away" status and quiet time.
• Bookings pages (if you use them) only offer appointments inside your hours.
• Your calendar view starts at your real start time instead of showing hours of empty morning.
• Teams uses the same hours for its "away" status and quiet time.
Troubleshooting
Colleagues still book me outside my hours. Working hours are a hint, not a lock — people can still invite you. Decline with Propose new time, and consider turning on Automatic replies for a regular day off.
Different days have different hours but I can't set them. You're in classic Outlook. Set them in new Outlook or Outlook on the web; they apply everywhere.
My phone shows the wrong first day of the week. The Outlook app follows your phone's region setting for that. Change it in the phone's Settings → General → Language & Region (iPhone) or system settings (Android).
Wrapping up
Two minutes in Work hours and location saves a term's worth of "Sorry, I don't work Fridays" replies. Set your real days, your real hours and where you'll be — and let the calendar do the explaining.
