Function 12: NETWORKDAYS()

📘 Definition:

The NETWORKDAYS() function calculates the number of working days between two given dates — excluding weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and optionally, specified holidays.

In Indian workplaces, this is used for:

• Calculating employee attendance

• Measuring project deadlines

• Estimating business working days within a period

• Tracking salary or leave deduction days

🧩 Syntax:  =NETWORKDAYS(start_date, end_date, [holidays])


🧠 Example (Indian Perspective):

Let’s say:

• Start Date → 01-Jan-2025

• End Date → 31-Jan-2025

• Holidays → 26-Jan-2025 (Republic Day)

✅ Explanation:
Between 1st and 31st January 2025, there are 31 calendar days. Out of them:

• 8 are weekends (Saturdays & Sundays)

• 1 is a national holiday (26th Jan)
  Hence, total working days = 31 – 9 = 22 days.

🪜 Step-by-Step Breakdown:

1. Enter Start Date in A2 → 01-Jan-2025

2. Enter End Date in B2 → 31-Jan-2025

3. Enter Holiday in C2 → 26-Jan-2025

4. Formula → =NETWORKDAYS(A2,B2,C2)

5. Result → 22

💡 Tip:

If your organization’s weekends are different (like Friday-Saturday), use NETWORKDAYS.INTL() (we’ll cover that next).

🎯 Why It’s Useful:

• Ideal for HR, Payroll, and Project Management.

• Helps calculate number of payable days, leave days, or production days.

• Common in Indian companies where holidays vary by region (e.g., Durga Puja, Diwali, Eid, Christmas).

🧑‍💻 Project Task 1: Employee Working Days Report

👉 Tasks:

1. Use the formula:

    

   =NETWORKDAYS(B2,C2,D2)


2. Highlight employees who worked less than 20 days using conditional formatting.

3. Create a summary that shows average working days per month.

🧑‍💻 Project Task 2: Project Deadline Estimation

👉 Tasks:

1. Use =NETWORKDAYS(B2,C2,D2) to calculate actual working days available for each project.

2. Add a column “Deadline Risk” using:

    

   =IF(E2<15,"⚠️ Tight Deadline","✅ OK")


3. Create a bar chart comparing Project Name vs Working Days.