Managing Time Off for College Student Employees

Your college student employees have a lot going on. While they may not work as many hours with your company as other employees do, they have to juggle classes, coursework, and student organizations on top of working. As such, they may want or need to take time off to relax or spend time with loved ones. It can be difficult to manage everyone’s requests, especially around finals and holiday breaks. Allowing student employees to have time off will help them be productive in the long run.

Approve paid time off

If you have paid time off for your employees, even if they are part-time student employees, allow them to use it as they feel they need to. College is a time to experience new things and to learn, and they may need time off for exams or extracurricular activities. Even if they only need the day for an appointment or to take a day to relax, this time off to rejuvenate will help them be much more productive down the line and will allow them to avoid burnout.

Respect their time off

Keep track of who has time off and when. This will allow you to make sure you have plenty of coverage on the schedule so you do not have to bother your student employees while they are off. If they are responsible for a certain task or project, have them loop someone else in and train them on this, so someone else can do it. Try to avoid reaching out to them with questions and concerns on their days off. Have people in place who are familiar with the project or tasks who can help manage while the student employee is off.

Encourage days off

Your college student employees may want to work hard and earn as much money as they can. However, they may not know that this, on top of their coursework and other obligations, can be stressful. Encourage them to use their paid time off if they have it or to take a day or two off, even if it is not paid. This way, they will be able to accomplish all they need and want to without wearing themselves out.

Do not require a reason for time off

Employees should be allowed to use their time off without you knowing why they need the day off. Their reasons are personal, and if they want to share, they can. Otherwise, they do not need to. Allowing employees time off to take care of themselves and to do fun things will help them avoid burnout and return to work with a fresh perspective on things. This is especially important if you notice burnout occurring in your employees.

Plan in advance

Check with your student employees to see when they have exams and breaks, and see what they need in terms of time off for these things. Ask them to check their syllabi at the beginning of the semester to see what their schedule is and figure out time off and work schedules from there. This way, you know in advance and can make schedule arrangements accordingly. This will also allow your student to have less stress around the time they need off, as they will not be worrying about requesting off or finding coverage.

Image via Pexels

Have a system for requesting off

If you do not have an organized system for requesting off and filling shifts, you will be left stressed when you realize you need coverage. Create a system and expectations for requesting off and enforce them. Most job places require at least two weeks’ notice to take off. Many places require their employees to find their own coverage and prepare coworkers accordingly, though you may opt to aid in this.

Create policies

Have policies in place for employees who want to request time off. Again, many workplaces require at least two weeks’ notice for requesting time off. However, if an employee is sick or has an emergency, it is important to have policies in place for these situations as well. This way, the employees know exactly what is expected of them and what to do in the event they need to take time off.

Communicate

Communication is the most important thing when it comes to managing student employee time off. Make sure they let you know in advance when they need time off and communicate this to other employees. This allows employees to plan for coverage and to make sure the employee’s work and projects are accounted for before the time off. This allows for a smooth flow of work, ensuring that tasks and projects are completed with minimal disruption. It also alleviates stress from other employees as they will know who is covering for the employee who is off, and they are not scrambling to find coverage or complete work.

Managing student employee time off can seem overwhelming, but with enough planning and good management, things can continue to run smoothly.