Forum Discussion
Feature Request: Custom Status Labels for Calendar Events (e.g., 'In a Training')
Hey Teams Community! 👋
I have a small but impactful feature idea and would love your votes and feedback.
---
🔴 The Problem
Right now, every calendar block in Microsoft Teams shows the same status to colleagues: "In a Meeting."
Whether you're in a 10-minute standup or a 3-hour mandatory training — it all looks identical. This creates ambiguity, leads to unnecessary interruptions, and doesn't reflect how modern workplaces actually function.
---
💡 The Feature Request
Allow users to assign a custom status label to a calendar event when creating it — visible to colleagues who check availability — without exposing private event details.
Something as simple as a dropdown when creating an event:
✅ In a Meeting (default)
🎓 In a Training
🎯 Focus Time
📋 In a Workshop
The chosen label would appear:
→ In the chat status indicator
→ On the calendar availability hover card
→ When someone tries to @mention or call you
---
✅ Why This Matters
- Reduces interruptions during high-focus or learning sessions
- Helps colleagues make smarter decisions about whether to wait or escalate
- Especially valuable for schools, hospitals, training teams, and L&D departments
- Lightweight to implement — no privacy concerns since it doesn't reveal event titles
---
🗳️ If you've ever been interrupted during a training because someone thought you were just "in a meeting" — please upvote and share your experience below!
Let's get this on the Teams roadmap. 🚀
Tags: Feature Request, Calendar, Status, Availability, Training, Teams, Microsoft Teams
2 Replies
You already can do this via the "Show As" feature, though it's very limited. If I understand you correctly, you'd like a custom "Show As" value, instead of having to pick from the built-in list?
In any case, the best place for suggestions like this is over at the Feedback portal, where the relevant PMs monitor feedback:
https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/89a8afa3-2e1c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472
Thank you for the clarification! Yes, you've understood my request correctly.
The existing "Show As" options (Busy, Free, Tentative, Out of Office) are useful, but they don't communicate the *nature* of the block. "Busy" and "In a Training" both mean unavailable — but they carry very different context for colleagues trying to decide whether to wait or escalate.
A custom "Show As" value like "In a Training" or "In a Workshop" would make that distinction clear — automatically, without needing to manually update a status message each time.
Thanks for pointing me to the Feedback Portal — I'll submit it there so the right PMs can see it. Appreciate the help! 🙏
