Why clear work statuses are the secret to effective remote teams
“Got a sec?” “Can you join this call?” “Are you working today?”
These messages kill productivity. They interrupt focused work, slow down decision-making, and create a culture of constant fear. Your team wastes hours a week just trying to figure out who's available.
The solution is simple team practice: open work statuses. Employed correctly, they give everyone the information they need without anyone having to ask.
The cost of unclear availability
We tend to consider interruptions the price of collaboration. But it is more than you can imagine.
- Destroyed focus: It takes over 20 minutes to regain concentration after a single ping. A few interruptions an hour mean you never get into a state of deep work.
- Wasted time: The sender waits, and so does the receiver, who stops his work to answer. They lose time collectively in an endless loop that would have been avoided by the explicit status.
- Increased stress: The sender waits anxiously for a response, and senders worry about being "on" and responsive, 24/7.
Work statuses make this uncertainty valuable information.
What are work statuses?
A work status is a badge that provides an answer to one basic question: "What is your availability at the moment?"
Common statuses might answer such questions as:
- Are you working today? → On Leave, Sick Day, Holiday
- Are you available to chat? → In a Meeting, Deep Work
- Will you answer fast? → During Lunch, In Office
Most critical work statuses your team truly need
1. Full-day statuses
These statuses prevent people from messaging someone who isn’t working at all.
🗓️ On Leave / Vacation
To indicate that you are not at work and can't see this message until you return. That way, colleagues aren’t expecting an instant response and the individual can effectively switch off.
🤒 Sick day
To let your crew know you won’t be making it in on unexpected sniffle days. It gives the team an expectation of not needing to work and to handle urgent needs without bothering a person in recovery.
🌴 Holiday
To avoid confusion in different regions. This is crucial for international teams when a co-worker in the US might not know not to schedule a meeting when there's a UK bank holiday.
🚫 Weekend / Non-working day
Reminding you where work ends and life begins. It’s a strong signal that communications being sent now are not time-sensitive and won’t be addressed until the next workday.
2. The in-day updates
These take care of availability during the workday.
🎧 Deep work / Focus time
The original “do not disturb” sign. It says to your team, “I am doing something valuable. If it’s an emergency, the authorities can interrupt us. It gives employees the power to carve out time for deep work without feeling bad about being unreachable.
☕ On a break / At lunch
A minor way of indicating “I’ve stepped away for a short time and I’ll be back.” All the while, it keeps the sender from wondering why you haven't responded to their freshly received message.
🤝 In a meeting
Not now, you’re busy and can’t respond. They can see when the meeting ends on your calendar, and follow up at that point.
By establishing these statuses as a team habit, you swap the guesswork with knowledge. The culture goes from “I want to check whether they’re there” to “I’ve seen their status so I know when to get them.”
How work statuses can enhance team productivity
1. Reduced "Are you free?" messages
The incessant ask-clarify-reask question stream disappears. The team communicates less but notifies more.
2. Better planning by both managers and team members
Colleagues and managers can see, at a glance, who is available. Planning is based on facts, not assumptions.
3. Less stress straining the communications
When one's availability is known, individuals don't stress over "why didn't my email get a response".
HR and calendar working statuses
A status on a chat app isn't enough. Teams should have one source of truth, ideally in a shared calendar, where managers and colleagues can source individuals' availability, without conducting a search.
This is where a tool like HarmonyHR Calendar makes a difference. It integrates statuses into your team's natural workflow.
- Absences are clear: When an employee books Vacation or a Sick Day through HarmonyHR, it automatically appears on the shared calendar. No need for extra emails or messages. A manager can instantly see why a team member is offline.
- Holidays are centralized: Company-wide holidays are marked for everyone. Your Spanish team will see it's a bank holiday in the UK so they don't plan meetings or wait for responses.
- Weekends and non-working days are visible: The calendar clearly defines the work week, reinforcing boundaries and making it easy to plan across different schedules.
👉 Learn more about HarmonyHR Calendar
FAQs on work statuses
Why should we use work statuses?
To save time, reduce interruptions, and make planning easier.
How do they help remote teams?
They provide clear visibility across different time zones, preventing wasted time and miscommunication.
What are the most essential statuses?
Absences (Vacation, Sick Day), Focus Time, and In a Meeting.
How often should statuses be updated?
Whenever your availability changes significantly (e.g., starting a focus block, going to lunch).
Do statuses replace communication?
No. They eliminate unnecessary communication, making the important conversations more meaningful.
How does HarmonyHR
help?
It rolls absence and holiday statuses into the shared calendar so that they become a single source of truth for the organization.
Conclusion
Work statuses are not micromanagement; they are a tool for mutual respect. They respect the person who needs to focus and the person who needs information.
By making availability clear and visible in a shared tool, teams eliminate noise and save hours. Statuses are inherent to the workday with HarmonyHR Calendar, so your team can finally stop asking, "Are you there?" and get back to work.