How to set preferred hours#
For: Manager You’ll need: A person.
Can work and wants to work are different statements. A preferred window records the second: a weekly time somebody would rather have. It blocks nothing, but scheduling favors it when filling shifts.
Open the editor#
Preferred hours have their own editor — they are not a ‘Type’ on the ordinary availability form.
Open the person from Company → People.
Click ‘Create preferred availability’. The editor opens with a ‘Back to person’ link at the top.
An existing window also opens from its row in the availability list, with a ‘Back to availability list’ link instead.
Create a window#
Under ‘Days’, tick the weekdays this applies to.
Under ‘Time’, set the start and end of the window.
Add ‘Notes’ if the reason matters.
Click ‘Save’.
That’s one window. Create another entry for a different time — a person can hold several.
Why it’s always a weekly pattern#
A preferred window is a standing statement — “Monday and Wednesday mornings, please” — so it always repeats weekly. There is no one-off preferred block:
Wanting to work one particular day is ordinary availability. See How to create a one-time availability.
Wanting one particular shift is the marketplace. See Shift marketplace.
Because of that, one entry per distinct time window is enough: the same hours across several weekdays fold into a single row. In the availability list, its start reads “Mon, Wed, 8:00 AM” and its end “12:00 PM” — never a date.
What it changes#
When you assign by hand, a shift falling inside a preferred window is noted as prefers to work — information, not a warning.
In automatic assignment, a preferred window earns a bonus, so between two people who could both legally work a shift, the one who asked for those hours gets the edge. A plain available window only makes someone a candidate. See What automatic assignment respects.
Nothing is blocked. Preferred hours never stop you assigning anybody anywhere.
Both effects apply only to people who manage their own availability — ‘Set availabilities and working hours’ on their person page, ‘Set my availability’ in their own settings. For anyone always available, preferred windows change nothing.
Verify it worked#
The row appears in the availability list as weekdays plus a time range, and assigning that person inside the window shows the prefers to work note.