An update to Google Calendar has made it harder for your co-workers to hide away from office meetings, the company has revealed.
The calendar app has announced it is tweaking the user interface currently employed to show off your working location.
Previously, showing whether you were working at home or in the office displayed on Google Calendar as an all-day event, cluttering up people’s schedules and often causing confusion.
Google Calendar location change
Google Calendar first introduced the ability to share your working location back in August 2021, and hopes that the new change will make it a lot easier to show your co-workers exactly where you are.
Going forward, the platform will use a “more compact format” that sits at the top of your daily schedule, distinctly different from meeting invites and other events in your calendar.
In a Google Workspace blog post detailing the update, the company notes that the feature will be off by default, so end users will need to make sure their company admins have toggled it on to engage properly.
Once enabled, the tool will be available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Business customers. However users with personal Google Accounts, as well as Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline customers as well as G Suite Basic customers won’t be able to access it just yet.
The release is the latest in a series of updates and upgrades as the company looks to ensure users get the most out of Google Calendar on their return to the office in the new age of hybrid working.
Recently, Google Calendar was also upgraded to show a range of status options in Google Chat, giving you extra information on what you or your co-workers are up to. Previously limited to just showing when someone was out of office, Google Chat is now able to show a number of different statuses, including “in a meeting” or “in focus time”.
Google Calendar also recently launched “Focus time”, where users can block out periods of time where they can avoid meetings and get their heads down for actual work.
Setting such a marker in your Google Calendar will also allow users to automatically decline meetings, meaning no last-minute rush to finish off work.
