CONTACT:
Daniel Schneider, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Contact: djschneider@berkeley.edu
Kristen Harknett, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Contact: kristen.harknett@ucsf.edu
BERKELEY, CA –The Shift Project at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, released a new brief today that explores the work and family lives of low-wage workers in the Boston metropolitan area of Massachusetts.
Titled “Working in the Service Sector in Boston,” the research brief highlights findings from a unique survey dataset of 1,163 Boston-area service sector workers. The majority of those surveyed by Shift experience routine schedule instability and unpredictability, which create hardships and stress for themselves and their families. For example:
- 73% report irregular or variable work schedules
- 60% receive their work schedules less than two weeks in advance
- 45% worked consecutive closing/opening shifts (“clopenings”)
“Boston workers experience significant variability in their work schedules that occurs on short notice,” said co-author Daniel Schneider, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. “Our results show that workers would overwhelmingly prefer more stable and predictable work schedules.”
These scheduling practices also impact workers’ personal and family lives. Two-thirds of workers say that their work schedule causes extra stress, and another 68% say their schedule makes it hard to meet caregiving responsibilities. The researchers also see evidence of possible negative effects on workers’ health and wellbeing, including measures of distress, sleep quality, and food insecurity.
“Unstable and unpredictable work schedules really seem to matter for Boston workers’ ability to get by,” said co-author Kristen Harknett, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco. “Workers with unstable and unpredictable schedule are much more likely to experience hunger hardship and poor sleep quality.”
View The Shift Project research brief.
Study co-authors:
Daniel Schneider, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley
Kristen Harknett, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Francisco
Megan Collins, Project Manager for The Shift Project at the University of California, Berkeley