There are various reasons why Pals placed at bases are not working, such as getting stuck in buildings, problems with the appropriate level, or sickness. See how to handle Pals not working and how to assign Pals to jobs in Palworld.

How to Handle Pals Not Working

Reasons Why Pals Are Not Working
Pal is Not Suitable for Work Insufficient Work Suitability Level Pal is Sick Pal is Taking A Break Pal is Stuck in A Building Restart Palworld Future Updates

Pal Not Suitable for Work

Pals have their own Work Suitability and not one Pal can have all Work Suitabilities at once.

If you see a Pal not working, it is best to consider if that Pal can do the job you want.

All Pals by Work Suitability

Insufficient Work Suitability Level

Work Suitability Levels range from Lv. 1 - Lv. 4, each level having their own capabilities.

For example, a Pal with Mining Lv. 1 can only mine Stones, so it won't work if you want it to mine Ores.

All Work Suitabilities Explained

Pal is Sick

Pals can be afflicted with a total of 10 different status ailments. When a Pal is sick, they will not work at all so it is important to craft the correct medicine to treat them.

Pals also need to sleep so be sure that each Pal has their own Pal Bed to sleep on.

List of Sicknesses and Injuries

Pal is Taking A Break

One reason for a Pal not doing work at the current moment is that they are taking a break. Pals eat when they are hungry, or sleep when they are tired.

You can see the status of your worker Pals on the top right corner of the screen when you are at the base.

Pal Stuck in A Building

Due to the close proximity of buildings and structures at your base, Pals may get stuck in between them, rendering them immobile.

In this situation, the optimal solution is to disassemble the structure and rebuild it in a more open area, ensuring that Pals can move freely without getting stuck.

How to Destroy and Move Structures

Restart Palworld

Due to Palworld being in its early access era, it is understandable that the game still has few bugs that needs fixing.

As a last resort, if all other attempts fail, restarting the game and logging in again can often resolve issues with non-functional Pals.

List of Palworld Bugs

Future Updates

As the game progresses, ongoing bug fixes and patches will be consistently provided to enhance and improve the overall gaming experience.

In future game updates, it is expected that Pals will no longer experience this bug, ensuring that they function correctly and operate as intended.

Future Updates

How to Assign Pals to Jobs

Pick Up and Throw Pal

A swift method for assigning a job to a Pal is to lift them up and throw them into the desired area where you want them to work.

A notification will appear at the screen if the job is accepted by your Pal or if your Pal has the correct Work Suitability for it.

Return it to the Palbox

Sometimes, working Pals are unpredictable and may do jobs that aren't really necessary, or jobs that another Pal is working on already.

In such situations, the most effective approach is to return surplus Pals to the Palbox and reassign Pals with a fitting Work Suitability for the specific job you want them to perform.

How to Get Palbox

Palworld Related Guides

Tips and Tricks

Sakurajima Update Tips

Sakurajima Island Tips
PvP Arena Guide	How to Find Meteorite Event
Oil Rig Stronghold Guide	Best Crude Oil Base Locations
How to Farm Dog Coins	Supply Drop Guide and All Items
Sakurajima Location and How to Get There	How to Unlock More Accessory Slots
Sakurajima Early Access Play Review	Junkyard Locations and All Items
Lockpicking Guide	-

All Sakurajima Update Features

General Palworld Tips

General Palworld Tips
Best Starter Pal	How to Level Up Fast
Best Base Locations and How to Move Bases	Best Stats to Upgrade
Best Ancient Technology	Statue of Power Guide
How to Get a Gun Fast and Early in Palworld	Day/Night Cycle
How to Get Ancient Technology Points Fast	Pal Distillation Pod: How to Rank Up Pal
Base Building Guide	Raid Guide
How to Remove Wanted Status	List of Palworld Achievements
Best Palworld Team	How to Destroy and Move Structures
When Do Items and Resources Respawn?	Transferring Characters
Base Level Rewards and Requirements	How to Attack Enemies on Water
Best Structures for Your Base	How to Trade Pals
Best Type Combinations	What to Do in Palworld
Can Pals Evolve in Palworld	How to Mount and Ride Pals
How to Get More Base Storage	When Do Bosses Respawn?
Benefits to Killing Syndicate Thugs	All Black Marketeer Pals
How to Move Bases	How to Create and Join a Guild
Story Walkthrough Guide	Post Game Guide
Pal Buy and Sell Values Explained	Post Game Raid Boss
Choices, Missables, and One-Time Events	How to Fly
How to Handle Pals Not Working and Assign Pals to Jobs	How to Get a Level 5 Work Suitability Pal
List of the Best Palworld Mods	Rare Drops List and Best Rare Drops to Farm
How to Change Player and Pal Names	Stats and IVs Explained
How to Change Your Character's Appearance	How to Keep Items on Death
How Many Pals Are in Palworld	How to Refresh Vendor Stock
Feed Box Optimal Positioning	Pals That Don't Sleep
Level Cap	All Pal Skins and How to Change
Palworld Halloween Skins	-

Pal Catching Tips

Pal Catching Tips
How to Catch Pals	How to Catch and Sell Humans
How to Get Lucky Pals	Pal Sphere Farming Guide
How to Reroll Dungeon Bosses	-

Survival and Exploration Tips

Survival and Exploration Tips
How to Cook Pals	How to Farm Paldium Fragments
How to Heal Pals and Player HP	How to Keep Pals Happy and Sane
How to Increase Carrying Capacity	How to Increase Stamina
How to Upgrade Palbox	How to Repair Tools
How to Fix Pal Injuries	How to Revive Pals
How to Cancel Arrows	How to Eat Food
How to Put Out and Avoid Fires	How to Increase Movement Speed
How to Cure Depressed Pals	How to Cure Weakened Pals
How to Cure Pals of Overfull	How to Get Keys
Night Guide: How to Survive the Night	How to Manage Food Expiration

Best Base Locations
Coal Base	Paldium Fragment Base
Ore Base	Sulfur Base
Skill Fruit Base	-

Settings and Multiplayer Tips

Settings and Multiplayer Tips
How to Play Palworld on Mobile Devices	Best World Settings for Palworld
How to Change World Settings	Multiplayer Guide
Does Palworld Have Crossplay?	Is There PvP in Palworld?
How to Save the Game	How to Set Up Dedicated Server
Which Difficulty Settings to Choose	How to Backup Save Data
All Controls and How to Change	How to Drop Items and Pals
All Console Commands and Cheats	Palworld PC System Requirements
How to Migrate Server Data	How to Change Death Penalty Settings
Is There Splitscreen Local Co-Op in Palworld	-

Glitches and Exploits

All Glitches and Exploits
Infinite Pal Sphere Exploit	Guild Save File Deletion Bug
Pal Pathfinding Bug Fix	How to Catch Tower Bosses
Refresh Food Expiration Glitch	Infinite Sweepa Boost Glitch
Carry Weight Glitch	Pal Sphere Gliding Glitch
Egg Duplication Glitch	Instant Pal Revive and Heal Glitch
Infinite Syndicate Thug Glitch	Black Marketeer Gold Glitch
Item Duplication Glitch	2 Combat Pals at A Time Glitch
Unraidable Base Glitch	Clipping Glitch
How to Fix World Save Bug	Infinite Loot Glitch
Infinite XP Glitch	Freeze and Rocket Launcher Glitch
Pal Skill Cooldown Reset Trick	Fierce Fang Glitch