Workers

Workers are the beavers or bots assigned to a building to perform its job. Every workplace has a fixed number of worker slots, and the type of worker determines what tasks the building can do. A workplace is productive only when its workers’ basic needs are met and the building has what it needs to operate, such as input goods, free output space, and power if required.

Many workplace types use workers in the same general way: they spend most of their time inside the building, and if they cannot do useful work they idle at the entrance. In some cases they also carry goods, fetch missing inputs from nearby storage or producers, or move finished products to suitable storage. This means worker performance is affected not only by the building itself, but also by local logistics, storage placement, and access to basic needs.

Different job categories have different tasks and behaviors. Examples include builders on construction sites, haulers at hauling posts, reforesters in foresters, farmers in farmhouses, miners in mines, scavengers at scavenger flags, and crossing workers at district crossings. Wonder workers similarly keep their structure running by fetching missing goods or idling at the entrance, while pilots from the Earth Repopulator leave the local population when the wonder is activated.

Workers are productive when:

• their basic needs are met,
• the workplace has the required input goods, output capacity, and power if needed,
• and the job can actually be performed, meaning there is relevant work to do.

If a workplace lacks inputs, workers fetch a load from the nearest source, which may be storage or a producer of that good. If the output side is full, they try to empty it by carrying goods to suitable storage. When they cannot be productive, they idle in the building, usually at the entrance. Because time spent moving goods or idling lowers efficiency, it is best to provide nearby storage for both inputs and outputs, and to place haulers nearby when possible.

Population management shows how many workers are active, how many slots are vacant, and how many are unemployed. Some beavers cannot work: kits are too young, adult beavers with unmet certain basic needs are unemployable, and contaminated beavers cannot and will not work. Unemployed beavers can still be assigned later if job slots become available.

Worker performance is also influenced by working hours. By default, beavers work 16 hours per day, and this can be adjusted from 0 to 24. Increasing working hours raises productivity, but reduces leisure time and may also reduce sleep and shelter gains. Decreasing working hours has the opposite effect.

Employment and related labor systems connect to the broader needs system as well. Basic needs are vital, and failing to satisfy them leads to death, while optional needs are not required but can grant positive bonuses when fulfilled.