JQL for unassigned work and workload

Published 2026-09-24 by Sidecar Tools. Every JQL query and error message below was run against a Jira Cloud site on 2026-09-24. Automation steps use Jira's current "work item" wording; older sites say "issue".

Short answer

assignee is EMPTY AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY created ASC

This lists every open work item with no assignee, oldest first, so the longest-waiting items are at the top. Add project = KAN AND at the start to limit it to one project.

To see only projects where you can actually take or assign the work:

assignee is EMPTY AND statusCategory != Done AND project in projectsWhereUserHasPermission("Edit Issues") ORDER BY created DESC

Workload queries

You want	JQL
My open work, most urgent first	`assignee = currentUser() AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY priority DESC, due ASC`
Open work I reported	`reporter = currentUser() AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY created DESC`
Open work I am watching	`watcher = currentUser() AND statusCategory != Done ORDER BY updated DESC`
Assigned to deactivated accounts	`assignee in inactiveUsers() AND statusCategory != Done`
Reassigned in the last week	`assignee changed after -7d ORDER BY updated DESC`
Assigned to members of a group	`assignee in membersOf("support-team") AND statusCategory != Done`

Notes

Names. Jira Cloud does not accept display names in JQL. Use currentUser(), an email address or an account ID.
Groups. Replace "support-team" with a group on your site. Newer sites name the default groups like jira-users-yoursite; copy the exact name from the admin page.
Save it as a filter. Put the unassigned query on a dashboard with a Filter Results gadget so triage happens in one place.

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