Function: WORKDAY()
🔍 Purpose:
The WORKDAY() function calculates a future or past working day by skipping weekends (Saturday & Sunday) and optionally excluding holidays.
It’s perfect for project planning, HR management, academic schedules, and business deadlines.
🧮 Syntax: =WORKDAY(start_date, days, [holidays])
Parameters:
-
start_date → The date you begin counting from.
-
days → The number of working days to add (positive) or subtract (negative).
-
[holidays] → (Optional) A list or range of dates that should also be skipped.
📘 Explanation:
WORKDAY() counts only Monday to Friday.
If you add 10 days to a Monday, the result will skip all Saturdays, Sundays, and listed holidays.
💡 It’s an essential function for deadline management and employee scheduling in the real world.
Example: Office Project Deadline
| Start Date | Days to Complete | Formula | Expected Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-Jan-2025 | 10 | =WORKDAY(A2,B2) |
16-Jan-2025 |
| 5-Jan-2025 | 20 | =WORKDAY(A3,B3) |
31-Jan-2025 |
| 10-Jan-2025 | 5 | =WORKDAY(A4,B4) |
17-Jan-2025 |
⏳ Weekends are automatically skipped!
📅 Including Holidays:
If 26-Jan-2025 and 15-Aug-2025 are holidays,
you can exclude them by writing:
🎯 Real-Life Project Scenarios
Below are 5 different practical projects for students to apply WORKDAY() in real-world contexts.
🧩 Project 1: Corporate HR Leave Planner (Business Scenario)
Objective:
Calculate the employee’s joining back date after a leave, excluding weekends and company holidays.
| Employee Name | Leave Start | Leave Days | Holidays | Rejoin Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ritu Sharma | 1-Jan-2025 | 7 | 26-Jan-2025 | |
| Manish Roy | 10-Jan-2025 | 10 | 15-Jan-2025 | |
| Sneha Paul | 18-Jan-2025 | 5 | 26-Jan-2025 |
👉 Formula:=WORKDAY(B2,C2,{"26-Jan-2025","15-Jan-2025"})
🎯 Goal: HR can instantly know when an employee will return without manual counting.
🏗️ Project 2: Construction Site Work Schedule (Industrial Scenario)
Objective:
Find the expected project completion date from the project start date, considering that construction work happens only on working days.
| Project Name | Start Date | Estimated Working Days | Holidays | Completion Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building A | 6-Jan-2025 | 40 | 26-Jan-2025 | |
| Highway Bridge | 15-Jan-2025 | 60 | 26-Jan-2025 | |
| Apartment Block | 20-Jan-2025 | 90 | 15-Aug-2025 |
👉 Formula:=WORKDAY(B2,C2,{"26-Jan-2025","15-Aug-2025"})
🏗️ Goal: Plan realistic timelines and avoid scheduling work on weekends or holidays.
🧮 Project 3: College Assignment Submission Tracker (Education Scenario)
Objective:
Automatically find the submission deadline from the date the assignment was given — skipping Sundays and holidays.
| Student Name | Assignment Date | Days Given | Holidays | Submission Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Priya Das | 3-Feb-2025 | 5 | 8-Feb-2025 | |
| Arjun Sen | 10-Feb-2025 | 7 | 14-Feb-2025 | |
| Diya Ghosh | 15-Feb-2025 | 10 | 21-Feb-2025 |
👉 Formula:=WORKDAY(B2,C2,{"8-Feb-2025","14-Feb-2025","21-Feb-2025"})
📚 Goal: Professors can automatically assign fair deadlines excluding non-working days.
🧾 Project 4: Bank Loan Processing Time (Finance Scenario)
Objective:
Calculate the expected loan disbursement date based on the number of processing days, excluding bank holidays.
| Loan Application Date | Processing Days | Bank Holidays | Disbursement Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-Jan-2025 | 7 | 15-Jan-2025 | |
| 10-Jan-2025 | 10 | 26-Jan-2025 | |
| 25-Jan-2025 | 5 | 30-Jan-2025 |
👉 Formula:=WORKDAY(A2,B2,{"15-Jan-2025","26-Jan-2025","30-Jan-2025"})
🏦 Goal: Banking staff can accurately tell customers when funds will be credited.
🚚 Project 5: E-Commerce Order Delivery (Logistics Scenario)
Objective:
Calculate the delivery date for online orders based on expected working days and public holidays.
| Order Date | Delivery Days | Holidays | Estimated Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Feb-2025 | 5 | 8-Feb-2025 | |
| 5-Feb-2025 | 7 | 9-Feb-2025 | |
| 8-Feb-2025 | 10 | 15-Feb-2025 |
👉 Formula:=WORKDAY(A2,B2,{"8-Feb-2025","9-Feb-2025","15-Feb-2025"})
📦 Goal: Automate customer delivery dates — like Amazon or Flipkart logistics planning.
🧠 Key Tips:
✅ Use WORKDAY.INTL() if your weekends are different (like Friday–Saturday).
✅ Combine with TODAY() to calculate due dates dynamically —
→ Gives the date after 5 working days from today.