2026-2027 Fall Updates

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Overview of Updates

Updates to Expect from the Fall 2026 Workday Feature Release

 

Table of Contents

  1. When You Will See Updates in Workday
  2. Desktop Workday UI (User Interface) Updates
    1. Desktop Home Page
    2. Desktop User Menu
    3. Change Personal Information for Desktop
    4. My Tasks (and the like) for Desktop
  3. Mobile Workday UI (User Interface) Updates
    1. Mobile Home Page
    2. Mobile User Menu
    3. Change Personal Information for Mobile
    4. My Tasks (and the like) for Mobile
  4. Configuring the Workday Menu
     

When You Will See Updates in Workday

Workday rolls out updates regularly, but plans for two major release windows each year with larger updates. These releases happen annually in March and in September. 

  • On Monday, September 21st you can expect to see the first of these changes when you log in for the day.
  • In March 2027 we expect more changes, and a new article will be drafted for Spring 2027.

 

Desktop Workday UI (User Interface) Updates

Workday will be rolling out a number of changes to the look and organization of its desktop and mobile interfaces over the next year. The first of these changes will roll out in Fall 2026 with updates to the home page, menus, and personal information changes, as well as stylistic changes to a variety of communication tools, such as My Tasks.

  • Desktop Home Page
    • The current Workday homepage on a desktop computer features an Awaiting Your Action section that highlights anything awaiting you in My Tasks, an Announcements section, a Timely Suggestions section to show you items to be paying attention to now, such as a new payslip or upcoming registration periods for students, and finally a Your Top Apps section, which displays the Workday Apps you are using most frequently.
      The current Desktop Home Page displays with four primary sections, which are white boxes on a grey background. The first section is labeled Awaiting Your Action, and text displays reading "You're all caught up on your tasks." The Announcements section is to the right of this, and displays text about how to receive Workday Help from Bowdoin. The largest section is called Timely Suggestions, and the image shows three suggestions: You Have a New Payslip, Keep Your Home Contact Information Updated, and Keep Your Emergency Contacts Updated. Lastly, there is a Your Top Apps section, which displays the Benefits and Pay app, the Request Time Off app, the Manage Time Off app, and the Expenses Hub.
       
    • In late September 2026, the Workday homepage on a desktop computer will still feature four sections, but will see the loss of Your Top Apps and the addition of a Recommended For You section.
      The September 2026 Desktop Home Page displays with four primary sections, which are white boxes on a grey background. The first section is labeled Awaiting Your Action, and text displays reading "You're all caught up on your tasks." The Announcements section is to the right of this, and displays text about how to receive Workday Help from Bowdoin. The largest section is called Timely Suggestions, and the image shows two suggestions: Keep Your Home Contact Information Updated, and Keep Your Emergency Contacts Updated. Lastly, there is a Recommended for You section, which displays Review your Workday Profile. Notably, the space where Your Top Apps had been is now simply blank grey space.
       
  • Desktop User Menu
    • Workday's top left menu will also be undergoing changes. In the current display, the menu lists apps either in order of most-used or in the order specified by the user. 
      The user menu displays with a row of Workday apps listed in a column one after another. Some of these apps include Benefits and Pay, Request Time Off, and Performance.
       
    • In late September 2026, the updated user menu will instead feature nested menus of categorized apps, Hubs, and Dashboards.
      The user menu displays with a row of primary bolded categories, such as Home, Personal, and Student Administration, with sub-categories listed under each bolded item. For example, under the bolded Personal heading, nested items include Benefits and Pay, Request Time Off, and Personal Information.
       
  • Change Personal Information for Desktop
    • In the current interface, users need to click a pencil icon in order to edit individual pieces of personal information. It is a little clunky, resulting in extra clicks.
      The user views the Change Personal Information task, which displays Legal Sex, Date of Birth with instructions for Employees and Students, as well as Place of Birth. Each of these items is in their own white boxes over a grey background, and each section has a small pencil icon, highlighted with a black box, that users must click to edit each item.
       
    • In the September update, users will be able to make changes in-line rather than needing to click an icon to edit. Each of the personal information boxes are live fields that users can interact with in one single section. 
      The user views their Personal Information, including Date of Birth with instructions for employees and students, Marital Status and Marital Status Date, and Place of Birth. There are no longer edit icons, and each field is editable.
       
  • My Tasks (and the like) for Desktop
    Several items will receive visual updates in the Fall 2026 release, meaning that they will continue to be organized and function in the same way as always, but a few stylistic changes have been made. Rather than attempt to show them all, we will be using My Tasks as an example.
    • The current My Tasks features a series of nested messages in boxes with grey highlights.
      The user views their archived My Tasks inbox, which displays several messages about expense reports and absences. The Requisition message being viewed by the user is highlighted in grey and displays blue text, while the message itself displays in a large box to the right. The requisition item displays only as Item.
       
    • In September 2026, My Tasks will continue to have nested messages in boxes, but the styling is slightly softened and makes use of blue highlights.
      The user views their archived My Tasks inbox, which displays several messages about expense reports and absences. The Requisition message being viewed by the user is highlighted in blue and displays black text, while the message itself displays in a large box to the right.

 

Mobile Workday UI (User Interface) Updates

Workday will be rolling out a number of changes to the look and organization of its desktop and mobile interfaces over the next year. The first of these changes will roll out in Fall 2026 with updates to the home page, menus, and personal information changes, as well as stylistic changes to a variety of communication tools, such as My Tasks.

  • Mobile Home Page
    • The current Workday Home Page on mobile features an Announcements section, a Most Recent section displaying the apps you've used most recently, as well as Timely Suggestions. It features a bar across the bottom of the screen that displays a Home button, Apps, My Tasks, Find, which is used just like Search on the Desktop version of Workday, and Profile. 
      The user views the Workday Home Screen on a mobile device. Frequently used app buttons display across the top, with an Announcements section just below. Most Recent displays next, with the apps the user was most recently accessing. Timely Suggestions comes next, displaying that the user has a new payslip to view. At the bottom of the screen, a horizontal bar displays five icons, a home button, a set of four squares for apps, an inbox for My Tasks, a magnifying glass for Find, and a human head and shoulders for Profile.
       
    • In September 2026, the mobile Home Page will continue to utilize the same basic display, with the main updates arriving in the bottom bar. Now, users will see the Home button along with My Tasks, Find, and the same familiar Menu button from the desktop version of Workday.
      The user views the Workday Home Screen on a mobile device. Frequently used app buttons display across the top, with an Announcements section just below. Most Recent displays next, with the apps the user was most recently accessing. Timely Suggestions comes next, displaying that the user has a new payslip to view. At the bottom of the screen, a horizontal bar displays four icons, a home button, an inbox for My Tasks, a magnifying glass for Find, and three stacked vertical lines for Menu.
  • Mobile User Menu
    • Currently, the Mobile User Menu features Apps, using icons to display different areas of Workday that users can access. 
      The user menu displays with Workday apps listed three across in columns. Some of these apps include Benefits and Pay, Absence, and Expenses.
       
    • Continuing with bringing the desktop experience into mobile, the User Menu will now function just like the Menu in the Workday desktop version. Users will see nested menus of categorized apps, Hubs, and Dashboards.
      The user menu displays with a column of primary bolded categories, such as Organization, Personal, and Procurement, with sub-categories listed under each bolded item. For example, under the bolded Personal heading, nested items include Benefits and Pay, Manage Time Off, and Personal Information Hub.
       
  • Change Personal Information for Mobile
    • In the current interface, users need to click a pencil icon in order to edit individual pieces of personal information. It is a little clunky, resulting in extra clicks.
      The user views Change Personal Information, which displays Legal Sex, Date of Birth with instructions for Employees and Students, as well as Place of Birth. Each of these items is in their own white boxes over a grey background, and each section has a small pencil icon, that users must click to edit each item.
       
    • In the September update, users will be able to make changes in-line rather than needing to click an icon to edit. Each of the personal information boxes are live fields that users can interact with in one single section. 
      The user views their Personal Information, including Date of Birth, Marital Status and Marital Status Date, and Place of Birth. There are no longer edit icons, and each field is editable.
       
  • Visual Updates
    Just like the desktop version, the Workday's mobile app will receive the same visual updates for items like My Tasks.

 

Configuring the Workday Menu

  1. To configure your desktop Workday menu, select the Menu button at the top of the screen, then click the Customize button at the bottom of the menu.

    The user's Menu displays, with bolded categories listed in the order of Home, Budget and Planning, Cash and Banking, HR Operations, Inventory, Organization, and Personal. Organization and Personal are expanded, and each of them has several inset, unbolded tasks and reports listed underneath it.
     
  2. A new window will open inside Workday to allow you to add or re-order items in your menu.  

    A Customize Navigation window opens, which allows the user to make choices regarding their Menu order. Under Navigation Preference, a toggle button allows users to choose whether their side menu always displays or not. Below, the user's menu items are listed.

    You will first be given a Navigation Preference option to always display your side menu or not via an on/off toggle. This is defaulted to "off" for all Bowdoin users as a default. Under that, the Menu section allows you can choose to add menu items by clicking the +Menu button and to rearrange your existing menu items by dragging and dropping them into different locations.
  3. You may move items around inside categories

    The user prepares to move tasks around inside a category by hovering their cursor over a set of six dots to the left of the task's name. Text appears to encourage the user to "Drag to reorder".

    or you may move categories around to re-order the full menu.

    The user prepares to move categories around inside the menu by hovering their cursor over a set of six dots to the left of the category's name. Text appears to encourage the user to "Drag to reorder".
     
  4. To keep a task, app, or dashboard at the top of your menu, click the three dots to the right of the item's name and select Pin to Menu.

    The user has highlighted the Expenses Hub by clicking the three dots to the right of the Hub's name. A box appears, which reads Pin to Menu.

    When you next visit your menu, you will see the item you just pinned displaying at the top with a push pin icon.

    The User's menu displays with Expenses Hub as the second item after Home. To the right, a push pin icon displays, indicating that the Expenses Hub has been pinned to the menu.
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  5. When Menu items are rearranged to your liking, click the blue Save Changes button on the bottom of the window. The next time you open your Menu, you will see the updated order.

Additional Assistance

If you need additional assistance, click the link under the Related Services / Offerings section on this page to enter a support request online.

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