In a new study, scholars from Harvard and the University of California San Francisco examined the impact of scheduling conditions on older service sector workers. Their key finding: More than 80% of workers aged 50 to 80 experienced one or more types of routine schedule instability, with significant health and financial costs.
The work was reported in a new peer-reviewed article published in The Gerontologist by scholars affiliated with the Shift Project, a joint research initiative between Harvard Kennedy School's Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and the University of California San Francisco. The authors are Leah Abrams, a Sloan Postdoctoral Fellow on Aging and Work at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies; Kristen Harknett, Professor of Social Behavioral Sciences at the UCSF, and Daniel Schneider, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Unpredictable schedules have often been associated with psychological distress, poor-quality sleep, work–family conflict, economic insecurity, and job dissatisfaction for hourly workers. Little research, however, has been carried out examining the impact of scheduling conditions on older workers, even though a substantial portion of the service sector workforce is middle-aged or older. Demanding caregiving responsibilities and declining health may make unpredictable work schedules especially challenging for older workers.
The researchers found that more than 80% of older workers experienced one or more types of routine schedule instability. In this 50-to-80 age group, unpredictable schedules were associated with psychological distress, poor-quality sleep, work–family conflict, economic insecurity, job dissatisfaction, and intentions to look for a new job. Canceled and back-to-back closing and opening (“clopening”) shifts were most strongly associated with negative outcomes.
Policies aimed at improving scheduling conditions, the authors argue, hold promise to benefit older service workers’ well-being. The paper notes that municipal ordinances passed in a number of cities that regulate the amount of advance notice that must be provided to workers and mandate predictability pay for last-minute changes or cancelations appear effective in fostering greater schedule stability and improved working outcomes. Legislation introduced earlier this year in the U.S. Congress would, among other things, require employers to pay for last-minute schedule changes and to grant reasonable breaks between shifts.
For more information on the Shift Project, visit https://shift.hks.harvard.edu.