Scheduling

Overview

Unstable work schedules are harmful to employees, their families, their employers, and the broader economy. When workers face unpredictable hours, they and their families’ financial stability, health, and overall well-being can suffer. Business productivity and economic growth can then stagnate. Employers and local governments increasingly recognize the value of stable scheduling as a tool to improve job quality and stabilize earnings and as a strategic advantage for attracting and retaining talented workers. 

 

By adopting innovative strategies such as flexible schedules, labor market protections, and redesigned scheduling technologies, organizations can foster a more committed workforce while reducing workers’ economic insecurity. Insights from scheduling research can empower policymakers, business leaders, and organizers to shape policies that support economic growth and productivity, strengthen workplaces, and enhance the well-being of workers and their families.

Featured Content
A worker stocking shelves at a store.
Employer practices, Scheduling Last updated on May 12, 2025
Research Summary

Are Unpredictable Work Schedules and Workers’ High-Cost Debt Connected?

Food and retail workers who experience unpredictable scheduling, such as canceled shifts and schedule changes on short notice, are more likely to take out payday loans, use a pawnshop, or take on other forms of debt with high interest rates and fees.
Last updated on May 12, 2025
Female Retail Assistant Checks Stock on tablet
Employer practices, Scheduling Last updated on April 23, 2024
Research Summary

A Win-Win for Business and Workers: Evidence from a Predictable Scheduling Intervention at Gap, Inc.

Given shifts in attitudes and legislation around irregular work hours, this study explores the effects of changes in scheduling practices on employee and business outcomes, finding benefits for both parties.
Last updated on April 23, 2024
Employer practices, Scheduling Last updated on January 07, 2025
Research Summary

What Does it Take for a Fair Scheduling Policy to Work in Practice?

A study of service workers found many are unaware of their rights and face pressure to waive protections, highlighting the need for enhanced enforcement and education funding and more explicit language to prevent loopholes.
Last updated on January 07, 2025

Latest Content

Employer practices, Scheduling December 04, 2023
Video

WorkRise Shorts: Equity in the Workplace with Samuel Bradley, Jr.

Boston College assistant professor Samuel Bradley, Jr. discusses how to support organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in employment systems.
December 04, 2023
Economic context, Scheduling, Mental health Report November 20, 2023

Quantifying the Costs of Rising Unemployment

Rising unemployment brings significant costs to workers, their families, social outcomes, and the economy at-large. The contemporary tight labor market provides a good opportunity for researchers to better understand the benefits of low unemployment and thus the risks of high unemployment.

Joe Peck

WorkRise Research

November 20, 2023
Social determinants of work, Scheduling Executive Summary July 13, 2023

The Rise and Fall of Underemployment: Implications for Workers' Health

This brief offers an overview of the literature exploring the connection between underemployment and health outcomes. Public policies can be crucial in mitigating the negative health effects associated with underemployment. However, more comprehensive data on transitions into and out of underemployment are required to inform future research and policy initiatives.

Lonnie Golden, Jaeseung Kim

Grantee Research

July 13, 2023
A fast food worker with a mask on working in the drive through window.
Worker voice, representation, and power, Scheduling January 17, 2023
Article

California’s FAST Act Offers a Window on How Worker Standards Boards Could Improve Job Quality in the Fast Food Industry

A new California law establishes a 10-person council of fast food employers, workers, and advocates as well as government regulators to set wages and other workplace standards.

Joe Peck

January 17, 2023
Employer practices, Scheduling December 12, 2022
Article

Study Finds That 62 Percent of Organizations Devote Little to No Resources to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Published by the Boston College School of Social Work, this article highlights key findings from the National Study of Workplace Equity, a survey of over 1,000 workplaces on DEI practices.
December 12, 2022