Creating and managing unassigned shifts (EAP)

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Admins can create shifts that they intentionally don’t assign to agents. These shifts become available for agents to request, or can be manually assigned by an admin at a later time.</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="addon_wfm">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Add-on</strong>
</td>
<td>Workforce Management (WFM) or Workforce Engagement Management (WEM)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>
<div id="docs-ai-summary">
<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can create unassigned shifts to offer flexible scheduling options, allowing agents to request extra shifts or be assigned later. These shifts help balance workload and improve coverage by letting agents choose preferred shifts. You manage, share, approve, edit, or delete unassigned shifts, ensuring optimal team scheduling and coverage while maintaining control over shift assignments and requests.</p>
</div>

<div class="body">

<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The new unassigned shifts feature, available in the Week view for schedules, is
currently in an early access program (EAP). You can sign up for the EAP <a class="xref" href="https://forms.gle/DTTsM3Eq5fJsimrF7" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
</div>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Admins can create shifts that they intentionally don’t assign to agents. These
shifts become available for agents to request, or can be manually assigned by an admin at a
later time.</p>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_w51_4kb_j2c">
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_spv_fsl_g2c">Understanding how unassigned
shifts work</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_cs5_tkb_j2c">Creating unassigned
shifts</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_d3d_cvm_g2c">Sharing unassigned
shifts</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wx2_rvd_k2c">Approving unassigned shift
requests</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ww2_rvd_k2c">Editing unassigned
shifts</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_p11_d12_k2c">Deleting unassigned
shifts</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Related articles</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_tgr_qdd_tzb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443348256794" target="_blank">About the WFM schedule page</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443374353434" target="_blank">Viewing and managing your schedule as an agent</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8847379712794" target="_blank">Requesting to take unassigned shifts (EAP)</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_spv_fsl_g2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Understanding how unassigned shifts work</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">By allowing the creation of unassigned shifts, managers can ensure optimal
coverage without focusing on specific individuals. Additionally, it helps distribute the
extra work among the agents who are willing to take on additional shifts and allows agents
to select their preferred shifts. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Unassigned shifts are visible only in the Week view. They are highlighted in
yellow under the Unassigned shifts row in the schedule. Once these shifts are <a class="xref" href="#topic_d3d_cvm_g2c">shared with agents</a>, they will change to
gray.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">From the schedule, you can click on an unassigned shift to view its details, such
as the number of available shift slots and the agents eligible to take them, in a panel on
the right.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Shifts that remain unassigned are deleted 24 hours after the unassigned shift’s
time. This helps prevent skewing the staffing panel results.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Agents can view and request available shifts. These requests are sent to their
manager for approval.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Creating unassigned shifts</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Admins can create new unassigned shifts from the Zendesk Workforce management
(WFM) Schedule page.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To create an unassigned shift</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__ol_xhd_vb2_k2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__d8e78" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_calendar.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Scheduling</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Schedule</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">View</strong> menu next to the date picker and select <strong class="ph b">Week</strong>. <p class="p">The
<strong class="ph b">Unassigned shifts</strong> menu will appear at the top of the search and filtering
panel on the left.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Hover over <strong class="ph b">Unassigned shifts</strong> and click the <strong class="ph b">Add</strong> icon (<img class="image" height="20" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__image_yhd_vb2_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_plus_icon.png" width="20">).<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__image_tq4_rmz_m3c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_schedule_add_unassigned_shifts.png" width="500"></p>
<p class="p">Alternatively, you can also click the
<strong class="ph b">Add</strong> icon (<img class="image" height="20" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__image_a3d_vb2_k2c" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdBHmCGQB5CduDGOFHU0Waal6OOsOO0GfX2xmFfImmmABB_AITEGx5NVCoAWg5XluI-t2Io-kKytRyQp47DOj69nbYXlFL9bHGOFohi2SLJ8e8d5Xwpz8xiq6cChx4sRiuXXSC77Q?key=6KyC-wGVLUmzOQrx634lNIhF" width="20">) by hovering over the applicable day
of the week on the Unassigned shifts row.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Select the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443345205402" target="_blank">shift or intraday</a> that you want to use.
<p class="p">Automatic shifts can’t be selected. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__image_b3d_vb2_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_add_unassigned_shifts_shift.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">For <strong class="ph b">Shift distribution</strong>, select one of the following options:<ul class="ul" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__ul_c3d_vb2_k2c">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Identical shifts</strong>: Use the exact same shift and intraday schedule
for the shifts. This means that the same shift can be taken by multiple agents.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Optimized shifts</strong>: Creates identical replicas of the shift. Each
shift has a unique intraday schedule optimized for daily coverage. This option can
help prevent coverage gaps.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Workstreams</strong> you want your agents to work on during this shift.</li>
<li class="li">Select the <strong class="ph b">Date range</strong> for the unassigned shifts you want to create. </li>
<li class="li">For each day in the date range, specify the <strong class="ph b">number of unassigned shifts</strong>.<p class="p" dir="ltr">If you’re using identical shift distribution, the number of unassigned
shifts each day defines the number of agents who can take the same shift. However, if
you’re using optimized shift distribution, this value determines the number of
similar, but separate shifts that are created; each of the separate shifts can be
taken by a single agent.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_cs5_tkb_j2c__image_d3d_vb2_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_add_unassigned_shift.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Agent access</strong> tab and select who can view and request this shift from
the shift pool. </li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Submit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xrn-JoeQChwj7tT6VztrftdhpeqB9KANgXfg1Yl65Fs/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.jjgndo2o8gdh" target="_blank">Share the unassigned shifts with agents</a> so they
can request them.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_d3d_cvm_g2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Sharing unassigned shifts</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">After creating unassigned shifts, you must share them before agents can access
and request them in their <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/6443374353434" target="_blank">My Schedule view</a>.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To Share an unassigned shift</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_d3d_cvm_g2c__ol_lhg_wpn_g2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_d3d_cvm_g2c__d8e78" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_calendar.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Scheduling</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Schedule</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">Share unassigned shifts button</strong>. </li>
<li class="li">Select a date range for the shifts that you want to share. .<div class="p">
<div class="note attention">
<span class="attentiontitle"></span> You may want to share only unassigned shifts created within a
specific date range, which may not include all unassigned shifts you have
created.</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Share</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_d3d_cvm_g2c__image_krz_htd_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_share_unassigned_shifts.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
</ol>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Shared unassigned shifts appear in gray. Agents can now request these shifts,
which must be approved by their managers.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wx2_rvd_k2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Approving agent requests for unassigned shifts</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Agents can request unassigned shifts, but these shifts do not officially become part of
their schedule until their manager approves the requests.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Unassigned shifts remain available for request in the shifts pool by any agent
listed in the unassigned shift's Agent access list until a manager makes a decision or the
shift is deleted. It's up to the manager to identify overlapping requests and make a final
decision.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Approving a request for an unassigned shift automatically rejects all other
requests for that shift.</p>
<p class="p">After an unassigned shift request is approved, it replaces any previously scheduled shift
for that agent on that day.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To approve or deny agents' unassigned shift requests:</strong></p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">To approve or deny agents’ unassigned shift requests: </p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_wx2_rvd_k2c__ol_czn_svd_k2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_wx2_rvd_k2c__d8e109" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_calendar.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Scheduling</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Unassigned shifts</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Pending</strong> in the top right.<p class="p" dir="ltr">A list of unassigned shifts requests
from the agents you manage is displayed.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Hover over each request and select <strong class="ph b">Deny</strong> or <strong class="ph b">Approve</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_wx2_rvd_k2c__image_ezn_svd_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_unassigned_shifts_mgmt_approve.png" width="800"></p>
</li>
</ol>
<div class="p">
<div class="note attention">
<span class="attentiontitle"></span> You can view a list of all your denied, approved, and expired requests by clicking
Closed in the top right.</div>
</div>
<p class="p">When a request is approved, the schedule is updated to display the agent’s new shift.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ww2_rvd_k2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Editing an unassigned shift</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To edit an unassigned shift</strong></p>
<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_ww2_rvd_k2c__ol_iwz_c12_k2c">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_ww2_rvd_k2c__d8e78" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_calendar.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Scheduling</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Schedule</strong>.</span>.</li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">View</strong> menu next to the date picker and select <strong class="ph b">Week</strong>.<p class="p" dir="ltr">The <strong class="ph b">Unassigned shifts</strong> menu will appear at the top of the search and filtering
panel on the left. If necessary, click the arrow to expand the section</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click any unassigned shift to display its details on the right side.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ww2_rvd_k2c__image_oyg_jzd_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_unassigned_shifts_row_edit.png" width="800"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click the options menu icon (<img class="image" height="20" id="topic_ww2_rvd_k2c__image_xyv_kzd_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_horizontal.png" width="20">) next to the shift date and select
<strong class="ph b">Edit</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Edit any of the unassigned shift details.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_p11_d12_k2c">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Deleting an unassigned shift</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Deleting a shift permanently removes it from the schedule and the shift pool. Any
existing requests for that shift will be automatically denied.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To delete an unassigned shift</strong></p>
<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_p11_d12_k2c__ol_xbs_g12_k2c">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838272410" target="_blank">Workforce management</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_p11_d12_k2c__d8e78" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_calendar.png" width="16">
<strong class="ph b">Scheduling</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Schedule</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click the <strong class="ph b">View</strong> menu next to the date picker and select <strong class="ph b">Week</strong>.<p class="p" dir="ltr">The <strong class="ph b">Unassigned shifts</strong> menu will appear at the top of the search and filtering
panel on the left. If necessary, click the arrow to expand the section</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click any unassigned shift to display its details on the right side.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_p11_d12_k2c__image_zbs_g12_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/docs/en/wfm_unassigned_shifts_row_edit.png" width="800"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click the options menu icon (<img class="image" height="20" id="topic_p11_d12_k2c__image_acs_g12_k2c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/sell_icon_menu_horizontal.png" width="20">) next to the shift date and select
<strong class="ph b">Delete</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b"> Delete shift</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script id="docs-schema-markup" type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8847380904346-Creating-and-managing-unassigned-shifts-EAP",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8847380904346-Creating-and-managing-unassigned-shifts-EAP",
"headline": "Creating and managing unassigned shifts (EAP)",
"description": "You can create, share, manage, and approve unassigned shifts in the Week view of the schedule to allow agents to request and be assigned to these shifts as needed.",
"articleSection": "Schedule management and time tracking (WFM add-on)",
"datePublished": "2025-02-06T15:25:36+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-04-20T08:57:08.113862+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8847380904346-Creating-and-managing-unassigned-shifts-EAP"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"url": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk"
},
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Zendesk Help",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us"
},
"about": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Zendesk"
}
}</script><script id="ai-summary-script">
//<![CDATA[
const ai_summary_style = document.createElement('style');
ai_summary_style.innerHTML = `#styled-article-body{padding:0 0 0}#article-body #docs-ai-summary{background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 6px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle{font-size:.9em;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:4px;cursor:pointer;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #up-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px;display:none}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #down-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-content{font-size:.9em;padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px;margin-bottom:12px}`;
document.head.appendChild(ai_summary_style);

const toggleAISummary = () => {
const summary = document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-content");
const upTriangle = document.getElementById("up-triangle");
const downTriangle = document.getElementById("down-triangle");
if (summary.style.display === "none") {
summary.style.display = "block";
upTriangle.style.display = "none";
downTriangle.style.display = "inline";
} else {
summary.style.display = "none";
upTriangle.style.display = "inline";
downTriangle.style.display = "none";
}
};

document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-toggle").addEventListener("click", toggleAISummary);
//]]>
</script>
</body>