Presence isn't productivity: using Teams status fairly

Teams status tells you when someone is signed in and what their devices and calendar say, not how much or how well they work. Microsoft keeps its own workplace data away from judging individuals: Viva Insights won't show groups smaller than five, and Microsoft took names out of Productivity Score. Use status data the same way: for patterns and conversations, never as a verdict on a person.

What does Teams status actually measure?

Microsoft describes presence as showing "the user's current availability and status to other users" (Microsoft Learn: User presence in Teams). It normally comes from three things: activity on the device (Available or Away), the state of the Teams app (such as In a call) and the Outlook calendar (such as In a meeting).

That's all. Microsoft's presence page describes availability, and nowhere on it does Microsoft say status measures work. Nothing in those rules knows whether someone is drafting a contract or reading on paper. The device rules are in Why does Teams show me as Away when I'm working?

How does Microsoft treat its own workplace data?

Productivity Score lost its names. In December 2020 Microsoft removed user names from Productivity Score so that it "can't be used to monitor individual employees" (Microsoft 365 blog, 1 December 2020).
Viva Insights shows groups, not people. Its aggregated insights "won't show results for groups with fewer than five people", and Microsoft says "no manager or team leader can conclude with confidence anything specific about an individual that they couldn't otherwise already know" (Microsoft Learn: Advanced analysis privacy).
Not for HR decisions. Asked "Is Viva Insights a tool for human-resource planning?", Microsoft answers "No" (Microsoft Learn: advanced analysis FAQ), and says it designed Viva Insights "to help people within organizations make data-driven decisions, not to automate those decisions" (privacy page).
Personal insights stay personal. "As a Viva Insights user, only you can see your own data" (Microsoft Support: Privacy guide for Personal Insights).

A small business has no group of five to hide in: every report is about someone you know by name. That makes fair use matter more, not less.

Why do managers read too much into a green dot?

Microsoft's research has a name for it. In its 2022 Work Trend Index survey of 20,006 knowledge workers in 11 countries, 87% of employees said they were productive at work, yet "85% of leaders say the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence that employees are being productive". Microsoft called this "productivity paranoia", and warned that tracking activity rather than impact can "undermine trust and lead to 'productivity theater'" (Microsoft WorkLab, 22 September 2022).

In Teams terms, productivity theatre is a mouse jiggler keeping someone Available all day. Watch the dot closely enough and you'll get more dots, not more work.

What's a fair way to use Teams status data?

Use it for the questions it can answer:

Who's around, and when. Typical start and finish times over several weeks, for planning cover and meetings.
Patterns, not moments. A month of late starts is worth a friendly question. One Away at 2:15 pm isn't.
Workload. Someone often active late may have too much on. That's a talk about workload, not a gold star.
A starting point. Ask before you conclude. Status can't see a site visit or a phone call outside Teams.

Don't use it for:

ranking staff against each other;
pay, timesheets or leave records;
discipline, without talking to the person first;
watching the live board to see who's green.

Set people up fairly, too: part-timers on their own days and hours, interstate staff on their own holidays and clock. Otherwise the report blames people for your settings.

What should staff be told?

Before you record anything, tell staff in writing what's recorded, who sees it, and what it's for and not for. Saying "this is an availability record, not a measure of your work", and then using it that way, builds more trust than any setting.

Two Australian things to check:

Notice. Some states have workplace surveillance laws with notice rules; check what applies to you before you start.
After hours. On the right to disconnect, check what applies to you. Either way, Away or Offline in the evening isn't something to fix.

This page isn't legal advice.

How does Clockless keep it fair?

Clockless is an availability record, not a timesheet, pay record or productivity score. It reads Teams status read-only, never reads messages, emails or files, and installs nothing on staff computers. It won't start recording until 14 days after you record the date you gave staff written notice, and reports go only to people that notice named. Part-timers get their own days, hours and target, and staff in other states their own holidays and clock.

Related guides

To see a week of Teams status read as availability, not as a score, open the sample report (made-up people and numbers). If it would help your business, book your free month.

Presence isn't productivity: using Teams status data fairly