Overview
The Workload Management overlay transforms the Resource Scheduler into a capacity-aware planning tool. When enabled, each cell in the scheduler grid shows color-coded indicators revealing whether a team member is overloaded, balanced, or underutilized on any given day. Capacity is the number of working hours a team member is available per day, as defined by their assigned work capacity scheme. Utilization is the percentage of available capacity consumed by scheduled work — calculated as Scheduled Hours ÷ Available Capacity × 100%.
By combining scheduled hours from task worklogs with available capacity derived from work capacity schemes, holiday schemes, and approved leave, the workload view gives managers an instant, visual understanding of how work is distributed across the team.
The workload overlay is available on the Resource Scheduler in both Board View and Workspace View. Toggle it on from the scheduler toolbar.
Balanced workload (green)
Approaching overload (orange)
Enabling Workload View
Toggle the workload overlay from the scheduler toolbar. A single click activates the workload layer on top of the existing task bars, and another click hides it.
Open the Resource Scheduler
Open the Resource Scheduler on any board (Board View) or from the Workspace View.
Click the Workload toggle
In the scheduler toolbar at the top, click the Workload toggle button to enable the overlay.
Review the indicators
Below each task row, daily scheduled hours vs. capacity are shown as color-coded cells.
Color Legend
| Color | Utilization Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Light Blue | 0% – 50% | Underloaded — significant room for more work |
| Green | 51% – 100% | At or near capacity — healthy utilization |
| Yellow / Orange | 101% – 120% | Near overload — approaching full capacity, consider rebalancing |
| Red | > 120% | Overloaded — significantly over capacity, tasks should be reassigned |
| Blue | N/A | Vacation/Leave — the person is on approved leave with no scheduled items |
| Purple | N/A | Conflict — items are scheduled on a leave or holiday day |
| Orange | N/A | Holiday — the day is a public holiday from the assigned holiday scheme |
| Grey / Striped | N/A | Non-working day — weekend with zero capacity in the capacity scheme |
Indicator Modes
The workload overlay supports three different indicator modes, selectable from the toolbar dropdown next to the Workload toggle:
| Mode | What It Shows | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Workload | Scheduled hours vs. available capacity, color-coded | Default mode — capacity planning and workload balancing |
| Number of Issues | Count of separate tasks assigned to a person per day | Useful for spotting context-switching — a person with 8 tasks of 1h each may be less productive than someone with 2 tasks of 4h, even though both total 8h |
| Availability | Free hours remaining after subtracting scheduled work | Quickly seeing who has room for new tasks — shows the actual hours available rather than a percentage |
How Workload Is Calculated
The workload percentage for any given user on any given day is determined by a simple formula:
Where Available Capacity is calculated as:
Worked Example
Consider a team member with a standard 8h/day capacity scheme. On a regular Monday, they have 3 tasks assigned:
- Task A — 4h
- Task B — 2h
- Task C — 3h
Total scheduled: 9h / 8h capacity = 112.5% — displayed as YELLOW/ORANGE (near overload, 101–120% range).
Capacity Calculation with Holidays and Leave
The available capacity isn't always the raw value from the capacity scheme. Holidays and approved leave reduce the effective capacity for a given day.
| Scenario | Effect on Capacity | Workload Indicator |
|---|---|---|
| Regular working day | Full capacity from scheme (e.g., 8h) | Normal color-coded indicator |
| Public holiday (from assigned Holiday Calendar) | Capacity = 0h | Grey / Striped — no capacity |
| Approved full-day leave | Capacity = 0h | Grey / Striped — no capacity |
| Approved half-day leave | Capacity reduced by 50% (e.g., 8h → 4h) | Normal indicator against reduced capacity |
| Weekend (0h in capacity scheme) | Capacity = 0h | Grey / Striped — non-working day |
A team member with 8h/day capacity takes an approved half-day leave on Wednesday. Their available capacity for that day drops to 4h. If they have 3h of scheduled work, utilization is 3h / 4h = 75% — shown as Green (healthy, 51–100% range). If they had 5h scheduled, it would be 5h / 4h = 125% — shown as Red (overloaded, exceeds 120%).
Workload Detail Row
For a deeper breakdown, click the expand arrow on any user's row to reveal the workload detail row. This expanded view provides granular daily data to help you make informed scheduling decisions.
What the Detail Row Shows
- Scheduled hours per day — total hours from all assigned tasks on each day
- Available capacity per day — effective capacity after holidays and leave
- Utilization percentage — the ratio of scheduled hours to available capacity
- Visual bar chart — a mini bar for each day showing the utilization level relative to capacity
Display Modes
The workload overlay supports two display modes. Toggle between them using the mode selector in the scheduler toolbar.
| Mode | Display Format | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Hours (h) | 2.5 per day (shown in resource header as weekly summary: M T W T F | Σ) |
Seeing exact hours scheduled per day. The resource header shows a weekly breakdown: each day's hours plus a weekly total. Useful for daily planning. |
| Percentage (%) | 62% |
Quick visual scan of utilization levels. Useful for weekly or monthly capacity reviews. |
Per-Person Work Distribution
Configure per-person distribution when tasks are shared between multiple assignees. This setting controls whether the workload calculation divides task hours among assignees or counts the full hours for each person.
This setting controls how scheduled hours are counted when a task has multiple assignees.
| Setting | Behavior | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled (split hours) | Task hours are divided equally among assignees | A task with 8h total and 2 assignees → each assignee gets 4h counted toward their workload |
| Disabled (full hours) | Full task hours are counted for each assignee | A task with 8h total and 2 assignees → each assignee gets the full 8h counted |
Work Hour Format (Field Mapping)
Configure the hour column mapping in Board Settings > Field Mapping to match how your team estimates work. The choice of mapped column determines how hours are distributed across a task's timeline for workload calculations.
The workload calculation depends on which hour columns are mapped in your board's Field Mapping. The plugin supports two separate hour columns, and the mapped column determines how daily workload is computed:
| Mapped Column | Behavior | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Hours (total) | Total hours are divided evenly across the task's working days in the timeline | A 16h task spanning Mon–Thu (4 working days) → 4h/day on each day |
| Scheduled Hours per Day | The per-day value is used directly for each working day in the timeline | A task with 4h/day spanning Mon–Thu → 4h on each day |
When both columns are mapped, the Hours per Day column takes precedence. The total hours column is used as a fallback only when the per-day value is empty or zero.
Practical Tips
Here are best practices for getting the most out of the workload management overlay.
Sprint Planning
- Enable the workload view before assigning tasks during sprint planning to see real-time capacity impacts.
- Aim for green across the team — ideally between 51% and 100% utilization for optimal productivity.
- If you see red cells (over 120%), reassign tasks to team members who are under capacity.
Handling Overloaded Days
- Reassign tasks — move work to team members who have available capacity.
- Extend timelines — spread a task over more days to reduce the daily hour load.
- Reduce scope — break large tasks into smaller ones and prioritize what must be done first.
- Adjust estimates — if the original time estimate was too high, correct it to reflect reality.
Interpreting the Colors
| What You See | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Light Blue cells across the week | The person is underloaded (0–50%) | Significant room for more work — consider assigning additional tasks to maximize productivity. |
| Green cells across the week | The person is at or near capacity (51–100%) | Healthy state — the person is well-utilized. This is the ideal range for most team members. |
| Yellow/Orange cells for several days | The person is near overload (101–120%) | Watch closely — slightly over capacity but manageable. Consider extending timelines or reassigning lower-priority tasks. |
| Red cells on one or more days | The person is significantly overloaded (>120%) | Action required — reassign tasks, extend timelines, or negotiate scope immediately. |
| Purple cells | Items scheduled on a leave or holiday day | Conflict — reschedule these items to a working day or reassign to an available team member. |
Combining with Other Features
- Work Capacity Schemes — ensure each team member has the correct capacity scheme assigned for accurate calculations.
- Holiday Schemes — ensure each team member has the correct holiday scheme assigned so holidays reduce capacity correctly.
- Leave Management — approved leave automatically reduces capacity. Encourage your team to submit leave requests early so workload projections stay accurate.
- Reports — use the Utilization Report and Workload Heatmap for historical analysis and trend spotting across weeks or months.
Need Help?
If you have questions about workload management or need help configuring capacity schemes, our support team is here to help.
Contact Support