New York City is known for its always-on environment that provides round-the-clock opportunities to do just about anything at just about any time.
To handle the fluidity of staff scheduling needs, retailers there are employing a tool called “on-call” staffing. This means that an employee (often a part-time employee) might have to wait until the day before reporting to work to know his or her schedule. Retailers will staff based on perceived need for staff and sometimes cancel before a shift.
This creates a problem for employees who find it difficult to plan for family and other commitments. They sometimes don’t work on a given day and have to put in more hours than normal on others.
To address this issue, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters to 13 national retailers, noting that on-call systems might violate the law in New York. The state isn’t the only one to address the issue. Bills focused on this type of scheduling are being considered in the state legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon and California.
One can understand the desire to help workers, but we need to balance workers’ rights against the need for retailers to remain flexible in a hyper-fast environment.
Today’s world of Internet-quick decisions and desires creates a need for more flexibility. Those retailers who can meet that demand will succeed. Those who cling tenaciously to older, outdated scheduling models will miss out on opportunities to serve customers and remain profitable.
In the midst of the opposing motives and goals, there are some solutions that can help resolve the issue with the greatest benefit for all involved. Here are some suggestions for retailers and employees to consider:
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