Boss schedules student employee for 7 AM Monday shift, even though he knows she has class at that time: 'I can only work the late shift on Monday.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Apr 7, 2026 5:45 PM EDT

Campus jobs shouldn't be allowed to schedule students during their classes. 

You would think that managers hiring college students would understand that their schooling is important to them, but that's not always the case. For some college town jobs, the best-case scenario is that their employees drop out of school and start working for them full-time. That will yield more cash flow for their employees in the short term, but going to college is a long-term investment in your future. If you'd be happy working as a barista or a waiter for the rest of your life, then it's not worth the hassle of going to college in the first place. You can just start your working life as soon as you graduate from high school, and not waste any of your precious savings on a degree that you're never planning on finishing.

A large portion of college students need to prioritize their grades and their work equally, because they can't have one without the other. If they don't work as much as possible, they won't be able to afford to eat and go to school. If they don't go to class and get good grades, all of the work in and outside of the classroom they've done to improve their station in life will be for naught. When a student relies on their job to pay the bills, they're much less likely to quit, even when their working conditions aren't conducive to their education. If a student's parents pay their tuition and they just have a job for fun, it's the easiest decision in the world to quit when their boss starts scheduling them during class. 

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  • Woman in apron holding tablet in restaurant
    via Vitaly Gariev

    A young college student works as a barista when she's not in class, despite her manager's preference that she work even when she has class. 

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • My boss scheduled me for a shift he knows I have class

    so the last 3 months I've had a working schedule with my manager one of those things being I can only work the late shift on Monday's as I have class pretty much the entire day up until that shift.
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • Man speaking in front of crowd
    via Miguel Henriques

    A professor gives a college lecture that can't be easily rescheduled due to one student's work schedule. 

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • yesterday I look at the schedule and he has me scheduled for 7am on a Monday.
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • I assumed it was a mistake but when I pointed it out he pretty much said he wanted me there that day at that time unless I can switch shifts with the 1 other person working that day.
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • That person doesn't like me and doesn't hide it.
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • A woman with green hair making coffee at her barista job
    via Yasamine June

    The barista who dislikes the main character prepares a drink for a customer.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • wafflez77 If boss is refusing to properly schedule when you've communicated your class schedule, you may want to contact HR. It's not your job to fix his mistake
    via u/wafflez77
  • TriumphDaWonderPooch "We've discussed this before - I will be in class Monday morning like I have been this entire semester. If you need me later that Monday please feel free to schedule me in at that later time and let me know." Send it via email to your boss, their boss, and their boss, and if you have HR them, too. It is NOT your responsibility to find somebody to fill a shift for which you are NOT to be scheduled for.
    via u/TriumphDaWonderPooch
  • Also CommiePuddin "Well, I have class and you know that. I will be at class and you can do your job and figure out the staffing." This is a job you can likely afford to lose.
    via u/AlsoCommiePuddin
  • elch07 Tell your manager to do his _job and manage.
    via u/elch07
  • summonsays This could be considered a constructive dismissal. Look into it for your state. Document everything. When they fire you for not showing up, collect unemployment from them.
    via u/summonsays
  • CoffeePotProphet Tell him tough sh and that education is more important
    via u/CoffeePotProphet
  • Purple Starlight77 Original Poster's Reply When I get a chance I plan to talk to my other manager (technically above the one who makes schedules) about this problem. He should fix it if not I'll figure something out but I won't go to work that morning
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • MarthaGail I had a manager do this when he wanted me gone. He wanted to bring in three teens/young adults from his church to replace us, mind you it was a large shoe store chain and not any kind of religious business, so he started messing with three of our schedules and refusing to change them when it went outside our availability. Sometimes we could get someone to cover the shifts or swap, but it resulted in the three of us barely getting hours. We all three quit. I wish I knew then what I kno
    via u/MarthaGail
  • Purple Starlight77 Original Poster's Reply Lucky I'm not in that situation as my boss could literally bring in people as my department needs at least 1 maybe 2 more people. We are so understaffed last week and this week he needs me to work 11pm-7am then come back later to do a 3pm- 11:30 shift (I previously agreed to do this sh scheduled once a month if needed not twice in a row)
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • katie4 Very baffling, some managers are so detached from reality. For two years in high school they understood that I'm 17-18, I am IN HIGH SCHOOL until 4:00 on weekdays. But graduation day came, my family had flown in from all over, and I was scheduled to work a Tuesday morning in the pajamas department. A critical roll, obviously. The quarterly metrics depend on Tuesday morning pajama purchases, so very dire. He denied my time off, told me to find someone to cover it or I had to come in. I wen
    via u/katie4
  • Purple Starlight77 Original Poster's Reply Out of touch doesn't even cover it. I recently had to take a double (7am-11:30) because this manager scheduled my coworker to work 11pm-7:30 then the next day 7-3:30. The manager above him saw this and asked if I could cover both shifts that day. I mean I was willing to as it helped my coworker but If my manager did his job right I wouldn't have to deal with that bs.
    via u/Purple_Starlight77
  • cook26 Twenty five years ago I drove a forklift on dock moving freight. I started taking classes and one semester one of the classes interfered with work where I would have to leave an hour early two days a week. Talked to the boss (who was a d khead to be fair) but surprisingly he said it was ok and he supported it. Halfway through the semester he pulled me into the office and said that me leaving early wasn't working out, and I had to either quit school or the job. I said we had an agreement I
    via u/cook26
  • Purple Starlight77 Original Poster's Reply I definitely won't, Ive been working for this company 2 years but the job sucked so bad and nobody would message me back on job search websites that I decided to go back to college for a better degree. I refuse to risk my education for this crappy job
    via u/Purple_Starlight77

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Tags

schedule class employee manager students early understaffed work shifts bad bosses college
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