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Setting and Managing Office Hours

Learn how to set and manage Office Hours in Equip to define availability, reduce off-hours messages, and share automated away responses.

MaryGrace Milligan avatar
Written by MaryGrace Milligan
Updated yesterday

Equip’s Office Hours feature lets team members define when they’re available—and when they’re not. This helps reduce after-hours interruptions and lets participants (the people receiving support) know what to expect. If a participant @mentions someone outside their set hours, an automatic away message is posted in the chat to let them know. This is especially helpful for participants (the individuals receiving support, such as students or clients) who may reach out late at night or during off days.


🕓 Enable Office Hours

  • Click your profile photo or avatar in the top-right corner

  • Select My Profile

  • Click Edit Profile & Settings

  • In the left-hand menu, select Availability

  • Toggle Enable Office Hours to turn the feature on

💬 Create or Edit Your Away Message

  • In the Away Message box, type the message you want others to see

  • This will display automatically if you’re contacted outside your hours

  • You can include links, contact info, or emergency instructions

  • A default message will be used if you don’t customize it

📅 Set Your Weekly Availability

  • Check the box next to each day you’re available

  • Choose your From and To times for each selected day

  • Make sure the From time is earlier than the To time

  • Click Save at the bottom to apply your changes

✏️ Update Office Hours Later

  • Repeat the steps above to access Availability Settings

  • Adjust your hours or message as needed

  • Don’t forget to Save your updates


Equip Tip: Equip doesn’t block messages after hours—but it does protect your time. Use Office Hours to communicate boundaries clearly while staying supportive.

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