Abstract

Variable schedules are now the norm for part-time workers in a variety of industries including retail, where schedules typically change every day and every week, with three to seven days’ notice of the next week’s schedule. In recent years, these scheduling practices have come under increasing scrutiny in state attorney general offices, state and local legislatures, and the media. Most retailers operate under the assumption that stabilizing employees’ schedules would hurt their financial performance because instability is an inevitable outcome of variable demand patterns in retail stores. We tested the validity of this commonly held belief. The goal of our experiment was to determine if it is possible to improve schedule stability without hurting financial performance.

• Keyword(s):
• corporate finance 10
• strategy and entrepreneurship 201
• workforce development 65