Teams Status for Sick Days: What to Set, With 12 Examples

Microsoft Teams has no built-in "Out sick" status. For a day off sick, use Schedule out of office: turn on automatic replies, write one line that names a backup, set the end time, and save. Your status turns to the purple Out of office arrow, and people who open a chat with you see your message. If you are sick but still working, keep your normal status, add a status message such as "Under the weather, replies will be slow", and set Appear away with a Duration that ends today. Either way, the message clears by itself, so you do not come back to a stale status.

Below: which option fits which kind of sick day, the steps on desktop and phone, and 12 status messages to copy.

The Slack version of this page is Slack status for sick days.

Which Teams setting fits which sick day

Out of office is the one to use when you are not working at all. It shows in Teams and in Outlook, it sends an automatic reply to people who email you, and a change in either app shows in the other. The purple icon is explained in what the purple arrow means on Teams.

How to set a sick status in Teams on desktop

Out sick for the day (recommended):

• Select your profile picture at the top right of Teams.
• Select Set status message, then Schedule out of office at the bottom.
• Turn on Turn on automatic replies and type your message. Microsoft says a message is required for the status to sync with Outlook.
• Select Send replies only during a time period and set the end to the end of your working day, or to the day you expect to be back.
• Select Save.

Sick but working:

• Select your profile picture, then Set status message.
• Type the message, and turn on Show when people message me so it appears when someone opens a chat with you or @mentions you.
• Under Clear status message after, select Today, then Done.
• Select your profile picture, then your current status, then Duration. Choose Appear away and under Reset status after choose Today. Select Done.

At the end of the duration, Teams resets your status from your activity, your calendar and the state of your computer. You can also type /away or /brb in the search box for a quick change. Microsoft's article "Change your status in Microsoft Teams" lists these commands.

How to set a sick status in the Teams mobile app

• Tap your profile picture.
• Tap your status, then Out of office.
• Turn on Set auto reply, write the message, and set the start and end dates.

For a status message only, tap your profile picture, then Set status message, and use Clear after to end it today. Doing it from your phone in bed works the same as from a computer; the status syncs to every device.

12 Teams status messages for sick days

Add an emoji with your keyboard's emoji picker: Windows key + . on Windows, Control + Command + Space on a Mac.

Fully off sick

• • 🤒 Out sick today. For anything urgent, contact Dana.
• • 🤒 Off sick, not checking Teams. Back tomorrow.
• • 🛌 Out sick until Thursday. Project X questions go to Sam.

Sick but working

• • 🤒 Under the weather, replies will be slow today.
• • 🍵 Working from bed, async only. No calls please.
• • 🔇 Sick, camera off and no calls today. Messages are fine.

Appointments and half days

• • 🏥 At a doctor's appointment until 2 PM.
• • 💊 Signing off at noon, not feeling well.
• • 🦷 Dentist this morning, online from 11.

Longer absences

• • 🩹 On sick leave until 20 October. Please contact Dana.
• • 👶 Home with a sick kid, checking messages twice today.
• • 🌡️ Off sick. I will reply when I am back on Monday.

For a full out of office reply and more away message examples, see how to set an away message in Teams. Lighter ones are in funny Teams status messages.

Teams status messages for annual leave and other time off

Planned leave uses the same two settings as a sick day: a status message that clears on your first day back, and a scheduled out of office for anything longer than a day, so Outlook answers email too. Put the return date first or second, because people scan for it, and name one person for urgent requests. Replace the parts in brackets; each line fits the 280-character limit of a Teams status message.

On annual leave until Monday [13 October]. Urgent: [Dana Kim].
On planned leave [6-10 October]. [Project X]: [Alex Lee]. Everything else: I'll reply when back.
Out of office until [date], with no access to Teams. For [team] requests, message [channel].
Off this afternoon, back tomorrow at 9 AM.
Half day today. Reachable by phone until 3 PM: [number].
Heads up: I'm on leave [6-10 October]. Send anything you need from me by [Friday].
Out unexpectedly for a family matter. Please contact [name] for anything urgent.
Public holiday in [country] today. Back tomorrow.
On jury duty this week, limited access. Back [date].
On sabbatical until [date]. [Name] has my projects.

To post a status before you go, set the message now with Clear status message after on your return date, and give the out of office a start date. For maternity, paternity and adoption leave, with a longer out of office reply, see Teams status for maternity leave.

What to put in a sick status

• • Say you are out, not why. "Out sick" is enough. You do not need to share symptoms with the whole company.
• • Name a backup. It is the line coworkers need most.
• • Give a return time if you know it. "Back tomorrow" saves a round of "are you in today?" messages.
• • Match the dot to the message. A status message saying you are out while your dot is green confuses people. Use Out of office or Appear away with it.

What a sick status does not change

A status message does not change your dot by itself. If you leave Teams open on a computer at home, you show as Available whenever you use it, and as Away once the computer locks or goes idle. Appear offline hides you completely, but Microsoft notes you "still receive notifications if anyone messages you"; the steps are in how to appear offline on Teams.

Out of office also does not stop notifications on your phone. If you want silence, turn on Do not disturb as well, as in Teams do not disturb, or sign out of the mobile app for the day.

FAQ

Is there a sick status in Teams? No. Use Out of office with an automatic reply, or a status message with Appear away.

How do I show I am sick but working in Teams? Set a status message such as "Under the weather, replies will be slow" and set Appear away or Busy with a duration of Today.

Does Out of office in Teams send an email reply? Yes. It uses your Outlook automatic reply, so people who email you get the same message.

Will my sick status clear automatically? Yes, if you set Clear status message after and an end time for Out of office. Otherwise the message stays until you remove it.