Just as students juggle their responsibilities with school and work, it's a delicate balancing act for local businesses to coordinate complex schedules and employees both in and out of college.
Nine of 20 employees at the Subway across from Ashton Center on 10th street are students who usually work 15 to 20 hours a week, General Manager Bender Singh said.
Singh said he doesn’t prefer one type of schedule over another when he hires students.
“Whenever they’re able to work, I can give them the hours,” he said.
He said the business's long schedule from getting ready to open starting at 6 a.m. to close at 2 a.m., every day except Sunday, helps him find hours for all his employees.
Based on each student's schedule, he or she can work a daily shift anywhere between four and eight hours, Singh said.
Soma Coffeehouse Crosstown, a coffee shop near Subway on 10th Street, has a different preference for students’ schedules.
“For the hiring process, we focus on availability a lot,” said Tyler Gress, the café manager. “Essentially, right off the bat, we try to figure out if we're able to work them into slots that we need to fill.”
Soma has three shifts — opening shifts, mid-day shifts and closing shifts. Two employees cover each period of the day.
Gress said because a lot of students can do closing shifts, they really like it when students have evening classes, so they can cover other shift times. Having an open availability does help too, Gress said.
Soma Coffeehouse Crosstown has a total of 15 workers, including nine students.
Gress has a process to work with the limited schedules many students have. He makes sense of this on a multi-colored Excel spreadsheet.
"Students are going to be the ones that you start your schedule with because they have the trickier spots," Gress said.
He schedules his non-student workers who have total availability afterward so they can fill the spots the students can’t.
Singh said he thinks working 15 to 20 hours a week in addition to taking classes can sometimes be heavy for students.
“Usually I tell them it's OK,” Singh said. “If you can’t work this many hours, let me know. I can take off your hours. If you want a break, I’ll give you a break. Don’t force yourself.”
Gress said it’s not a bad thing when somebody wants fewer hours because then he can give the hours to people who want more.
During the hiring process, Singh said he always makes sure potential student employees can work for at least six months. But it always happens that some students quit before they finish the time period they promised they can work, he said.
“What can I do?” Singh said. “They’re students, you know. They have to study."
