- Google Workspace team releases an update for Google Calendar enabling working location by default.
- Working Location setting was brought in the middle of the pandemic to help home-office employees understand their co-workers’ current location.
- The update is available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers.
Google has announced that it is making working locations on default its Calendar for Google Workspace features. Now, it is available to set a working location on Google Calendar without having to enable this feature manually.
The default can be changed by admins
The working location feature was first introduced in August 2021 allowing users to update their work locations manually on the Calendar. The new feature aimed to make it easier to show co-workers exactly where their colleagues work. The update was a response to the increase in hybrid working methods due to the pandemic. But users got often confused as the Google Calendar displayed whether you work at home or in the office as an all-day event.
Google solved this in a previous update in May and updated the feature to prevent confusion. The company launched a “more compact format” feature that stays at the top of your daily schedule, notably different from meeting invites and other events in the calendar. With the recent update, the Working location is now available by default and can be disabled by organization unit administrators.
The current settings for the domain will remain the same unless updated in the Admin console. The gradual rollout is now available and will be up to 15 days for feature visibility. Extended rollout which is potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility, will be starting on August 10, 2022. The update is available for;
- Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers.
- Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, and Frontline, as well as legacy G Suite Basic customers.
- Not available to users with personal Google Accounts.