Microsoft Teams is adding a feature that can automatically detect whether you’re working from home or the office — simply by checking the Wi-Fi network your device is connected to.
According to Microsoft’s roadmap, once your device connects to the organisation’s internal Wi-Fi, Teams will automatically set your work location as “in office.” Step out of range, and your status switches back to “remote.”
The feature is part of Microsoft’s broader effort to simplify hybrid coordination by helping colleagues see where team members are working from.
Off by default, but admins can enable it
By default, the location-tracking feature will be turned off. However, tenant administrators will have the ability to enable it and require employees to opt in.
Microsoft says this will reduce confusion about who’s working on-site versus remotely — a common issue in hybrid workplaces.
For managers, it could make attendance and collaboration more transparent. But for employees, it adds another layer of monitoring that blurs the line between productivity tracking and privacy.
Privacy and monitoring concerns
Critics argue that the new feature gives companies another way to track employee behaviour under the guise of convenience. As return-to-office policies continue to gain momentum across industries, this kind of digital monitoring could deepen trust issues between employers and staff.
Similar workplace tracking tools in other organisations have already sparked debates about employee surveillance and data use.
Part of a larger Teams upgrade
The Wi-Fi–based location detection isn’t the only update coming to Teams. Microsoft is also introducing options to save messages in chats, create custom keyboard shortcuts, and enhance Copilot’s meeting features — allowing it to summarise discussions or extract insights in real time.
The bigger question
Microsoft insists the goal is to improve hybrid collaboration, not to monitor employees. But the update raises a broader question — when does workplace “visibility” turn into surveillance?
