Setting Your Availability

Learn how to set and update your work availability to let your managers know when you can and cannot work, ensuring you’re only scheduled for shifts that fit your personal schedule.

Overview

The availability feature allows you to specify when you’re available to work and when you’re not. By setting up your availability accurately, you help schedulers create optimal work schedules that respect your time constraints while meeting business needs. Clear availability settings lead to better schedules and fewer conflicts.

Understanding Availability Types

The Shifts platform supports two types of availability:

• Recurring Availability: Regular weekly patterns that repeat indefinitely
• Temporary/One-Time Availability: Specific dates that override your recurring pattern

Most employees will use a combination of both types to maintain an accurate availability calendar.

Setting Up Recurring Availability

Accessing the Availability Calendar

To set your regular weekly availability:

1. From your dashboard, click My Availability in the main menu
2. Select the Recurring tab if it’s not already active
3. You’ll see a weekly calendar view with days of the week across the top

Adding Available Time Slots

To mark times when you can work:

1. Click the Add Availability button
2. Select the day(s) of the week this availability applies to
3. Set your available time range:
   • Start Time: When you can begin working
   • End Time: When you need to finish
4. Add any notes about this availability (optional)
5. Click Save

The calendar will update to show green blocks for your available times.

Setting Unavailable Time Periods

To block off times when you cannot work:

1. Click the Add Unavailability button
2. Select the day(s) of the week this applies to
3. Set the time range when you’re unavailable
4. Add the reason for unavailability (optional but helpful)
5. Click Save

The calendar will show red blocks for times you cannot work.

Creating Multiple Availability Windows

If you’re available at different times on the same day:

1. Add your first availability window as described above
2. Click Add Availability again to create a separate time slot
3. For example, you might be available 9am-12pm and then 3pm-7pm

Each time slot will appear as a separate block on your calendar.

Managing Temporary Availability Changes

Adding One-Time Exceptions

For days when your availability differs from your normal pattern:

1. From the My Availability page, click the Temporary tab
2. Click Add Exception
3. Select the specific date this applies to
4. Set your available or unavailable time range for that date
5. Add any notes explaining the exception
6. Click Save

Temporary settings always override your recurring pattern for the specified date.

Common Exception Scenarios

Use temporary availability for situations like:

• Appointments: Doctor visits, parent-teacher conferences, etc.
• Travel: Days when you’re out of town
• School Events: Exams, special activities
• Special Availability: Days you can work outside your normal hours

Viewing Your Complete Availability

Checking Your Calendar

To see a complete picture of when you’re available:

1. Click My Availability → Calendar View
2. Navigate between weeks using the arrows
3. Green blocks show available times
4. Red blocks show unavailable times
5. Striped blocks indicate temporary exceptions

Understanding How Availability is Used

Your availability settings impact scheduling in several ways:

• Schedulers will typically only assign you to shifts during your available hours
• The system may flag conflicts if you’re scheduled outside your availability
• Your availability may affect which shifts appear in the marketplace for you
• Automated scheduling tools prioritize your availability when creating schedules

Setting Availability Preferences

Beyond basic availability, you can set preferences for your ideal schedule:

1. From My Availability, click the Preferences tab
2. Configure your preferences:
   • Preferred Days: Days you most want to work
   • Preferred Shift Times: Morning, afternoon, evening
   • Maximum Shifts: How many shifts you want per week
   • Minimum Rest: Hours needed between shifts
   • Extra Shifts: Whether you’re open to additional work
3. Save your preferences

While these are preferences rather than restrictions, schedulers often try to accommodate them when possible.

Availability Conflicts

If you’re scheduled for a shift that conflicts with your availability:

1. You’ll receive a notification about the conflict
2. You can either:
   • Update your availability if your circumstances have changed
   • Request a shift swap if your availability conflict is legitimate
   • Speak with your manager directly

For detailed guidance on handling conflicts, see Availability Conflicts.

Mobile Availability Management

You can also manage your availability through the mobile app:

1. Open the Shifts mobile app
2. Tap Availability in the menu
3. Use similar steps as outlined above to set recurring and temporary availability
4. Changes sync automatically across all your devices

Best Practices

For effective availability management:

1. Be as accurate as possible with your true availability
2. Update promptly when your circumstances change
3. Plan ahead by setting exceptions well in advance
4. Be specific with availability times rather than blocking entire days
5. Include notes for complex situations to help schedulers understand
6. Review regularly to ensure your calendar stays current

Related Resources

• Recurring Availability Patterns
• Temporary Availability Exceptions
• Resolving Availability Conflicts
• Shift Preferences

This article should be updated when:

1. The availability calendar interface changes
2. New types of availability options are added
3. The process for setting preferences changes
4. Mobile availability features are modified
5. New conflict resolution methods are introduced