Just-in-time scheduling algorithms leave most US retail workers without fixed shifts
Evidence
Smart scheduling. Work shift-management systems are increasingly being used by businesses such as retail stores and restaurants to schedule work periods, allowing corporations to replace a full-time workforce with a “just in time” army of temps whose schedules are irregular and unpredictable. The benefit for the corporations is that they can increase profits by avoiding overstaffing and full-time contracts. As with the gig economy, the benefits to employees are much less clear. As of 2017, only 17 percent of US retail employees had a set or constant work schedule. — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 230
Categorization
- SEED: The algorithmic just-in-time workforce is a concrete case study angle on data-driven labor exploitation outside the gig-economy frame.
- XREF: connects to: Smart scheduling replaces stable workforces with unpredictable just-in-time temp shifts