One of the things that drove me insane working in the service industry was the rarity with which the employee schedule was posted with anything resembling advance notice. There were occasions working in restaurants when I wasn’t sure one day if I was working the next because the schedule wasn’t completed. And while that was the rare case, it wasn’t the least bit unusual for the schedule to go up only three or four days before the first day it covered.

“But the order has to be in by Tuesday or there will be no produce! The schedule will have to wait.”

Stop thinking that! Stop it now. You have fallen prey to the schedule delay fallacy. The schedule is one of your most important tasks to complete in a timely fashion. By all means, put in your produce order, but do not ignore the schedule.

Managers seem to fall for the schedule delay fallacy for a couple main reasons.

Probably the greatest contributor is that my peers and I can often accommodate short notice. I’ll readily admit that my schedule as a student was a lot more flexible than that of most career-types. A lot of managers take advantage of that. But the mistake they’re making is in equating flexibility with amiability. Yes, I can probably re-arrange things so I can be in tomorrow on short notice. Hell no, I won’t be happy about it. (See how many times late notice that I’m working can screw me out of Friday night plans before I cease to be flexible, amicable, or your employee.)

The other major factor is that the schedule’s deadline seems flexible. Vendors won’t send you product if you don’t submit your order by the deadline. However, if the schedule goes up a day late, staffing will inevitably make it in. Notice, however, that I said that this seems to be the case. Every day that passes increases the likelihood that your employees will be making plans that interfere with what you’re writing on the schedule. We need time to arrange our schedules, just like your vendors. What kills me about this is if a manager puts in an order for product late and the vendor can’t accommodate it, the manager says “Bummer. We’ll sort it out on this end.” But if that same manager posts the schedule (an order for labor services) late and one of the employees (vendors of said labor services) can’t accommodate it, the manager says, “Tough. You’ll have to work it out.”

At times, I have harbored the suspicion that schedule writers knew some conflicts would be inevitable, but felt that the things I wanted to do outside of work just weren’t very important. Even if this is a completely baseless suspicion, it should tell you this: While they might not seem significant in the grand scheme of things, or to managers personally, or to the operation of a business, the things young people want to do outside of work are important to us. Missing a planned Friday night at the lake may not seem like a big loss compared to missing a mortgage payment, but that evening is what I look forward to all week. Paying for it is why I have a job. Some day, I’ll have a mortgage to pay, too. But right now, going out to play is a major priority in my life.

When I get scheduled at the last minute I feel like my boss is taking advantage of me and marginalizing my interests. I understand that business necessities are what drive the way the schedule is written, and I will work with that. But there isn’t a business necessity that says the schedule should go up just a couple days before it matters. Managers who do this are taking my flexibility for granted and telling me that they expect my job to be the overriding priority in my life. Be warned: Work isn’t my number one priority. Never has been. Never will be. And most people my age feel the same way.

So, get that schedule out early. If you let your Gen Whys play hard, they’ll be more willing to work hard.