Outlook work hours control more than the shaded workday in your own calendar. They help Scheduling Assistant show when you are normally available, and in Microsoft 365 work or school accounts they can also show whether you plan to work remotely, in the office, or at a specific building.
Use new Outlook or Outlook on the web when you need the modern work hours and location experience. Use classic Outlook when you only need the older Work time settings for your work week, start time, end time, and first day of week.
Change recurring work hours in new Outlook or Outlook on the web
- Open Outlook and select Settings.
- Go to Calendar.
- Select Work hours and location.
- Check the days that belong to your normal work week.
- Use the time dropdowns to set the start and end time for each day.
- Choose the location for each day, such as Office or Remote.
- Select Save.
If your organization has building locations configured, you may also be able to share a specific office building or seating location. Leave location details unshared if you only want people to see the general work mode.
The modern settings are best when your hours change by day. For example, you can set Monday through Thursday as 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Friday as 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and still show a different work location for each day.
Adjust one day from the Outlook calendar
When only one day changes, edit the day from the calendar instead of changing your recurring weekly plan.
- Open Calendar in new Outlook or Outlook on the web.
- Select the Work plan icon on the day you want to change.
- Update the location, hours, or out-of-office state for that date.
- Select Set or Save, depending on the card you see.
This is useful when you normally work remotely on Tuesday but plan to be in the office for a workshop. If someone else manages your calendar, confirm whether they can edit the item or only view it; a quick calendar permission check avoids confusing changes that appear on one calendar but not another.
Set work hours in classic Outlook for Windows
Classic Outlook uses the older Work time setting. It is still useful, but it does not give you the same per-day location controls as the modern work plan.
- Open classic Outlook.
- Select File.
- Select Options.
- Choose Calendar.
- Under Work time, set Start time and End time.
- Check the days that belong to your work week.
- Set the first day of week if your calendar should not start on Sunday.
- Select OK.
These settings are mainly used for free/busy availability and calendar display. If you already configured modern work hours in new Outlook or Outlook on the web, classic Outlook may only approximate that schedule because legacy work hours support one start time and one end time for the entire work week.
What changes after you save
After the settings are saved, Outlook uses them to shade non-working time and improve meeting suggestions. Scheduling Assistant can use the workday boundary so coworkers avoid sending meeting requests outside your normal hours.
If Teams is connected to the same Microsoft 365 account, work location changes can also appear in Teams profile and scheduling surfaces. For separate time blocks such as preparation, travel, or uninterrupted project work, use calendar events or blocked focus time rather than changing your normal work hours.
If nothing changes after a few minutes, close and reopen Outlook. Also check that you changed the right account if your profile contains both a personal Outlook.com mailbox and a work or school mailbox.
Questions readers ask
Why do I not see Work hours and location?
The modern Work hours and location experience requires a work or school account with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. Microsoft also notes that setup is available in new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, while some other clients may only view or partially update the information.
Will classic Outlook overwrite my per-day schedule?
Not usually after you have configured modern work hours. Microsoft explains that the legacy work hours setting can update modern work hours until the modern schedule is set up. After that, future legacy changes do not overwrite the modern per-day hours, except for the working-hours time zone.
Does Teams use the same work location?
Teams can reflect your work location for the day when your account supports the feature. If you update your location from Teams, it can apply for the rest of that workday and show in both Teams and Outlook scheduling surfaces.
Can I hide my exact office location?
Yes. In the modern Work hours and location settings, do not share office location details if you only want people to see whether you are remote or in the office. You can also clear the location entirely if you do not want to show one.
Make the schedule visible
Use new Outlook or Outlook on the web for the most accurate recurring work plan, especially if your hours vary during the week. Use classic Outlook’s Calendar options only when you need the older work-time display or when your organization has not rolled out the modern settings yet.