The Teams status indicator is a small coloured dot that is supposed to communicate your availability. In practice, it communicates something more complicated.
The official statuses and their translations
Available (green dot) → I am at my desk and theoretically reachable. May or may not be paying attention to Teams.
Busy (red dot) → I am in a meeting, or I have set this manually to discourage interruptions, or Teams has decided I am busy based on my calendar.
Do Not Disturb (red dot with line) → I have explicitly asked not to be interrupted. This is either because I am in deep focus work or because I have learned that "Busy" does not actually stop people from messaging.
Away (yellow dot) → My computer has been idle for a few minutes. I may be in a meeting, away from my desk, or simply not moving my mouse. This status is the least informative of all.
Offline (grey dot) → I am not logged in. This could mean I am not working, or that I am working on a different device, or that I have logged out to avoid being visible.
Appear Away (manually set) → I am working but I do not want anyone to know I am working. This is a legitimate strategy for focused work and is used more than the official documentation suggests.
The custom status message
The custom status message is where the real communication happens. "In meetings until 3pm" is informative. "Heads down on a deadline" is a polite request not to be interrupted. "Back Thursday" is clear. "🎧 Focused" is aspirational.
The status that nobody believes
"Available" is the status that nobody fully believes. Someone who is Available may respond immediately. They may respond in four hours. The green dot is a statement of technical availability, not a commitment to responsiveness.
The honest approach: Use the custom status message to communicate what you actually need people to know. "Responding to messages at 2pm" is more useful than any coloured dot.