The Shift Project’s policy brief on Philadelphia retail and food-service workers was cited by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Editorial Board today. The editorial endorsed secure scheduling legislation proposed by Philadelphia Councilmember Helen Gym, calling the bill “smart business” and stressing its important for mitigating stress and hardship for workers.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym introduced fair work week legislation today that would regulate the way businesses manage employees' work schedules. NBC's Philadelphia syndicate published this story about the bill and cited The Shift Project's policy brief titled “Working in the Service Sector in Philadelphia," which documents routine instability in work schedules in the retail and food sectors in Philadelphia.
A new article published by The Atlantic’s CityLab highlights The Shift Project’s research, including the Shift policy brief titled “Working in the Service Sector in Connecticut." The majority of survey respondents experience schedule instability and unpredictability, which create hardships and stress for themselves and their families.
An article on fair scheduling laws and the future of the fair labor standards movement highlights the role of academic research in informing policy debates. The piece highlights Shift data and points specifically to the role of Shift's research brief on Connecticut, where policy efforts to regulate scheduling were underway this spring.
Daniel Schneider has been named a 2018 William T. Grant Scholar. Schneider is one of six early career researchers nationally and across fields to receive the award this year. As a W.T. Grant Scholar, Schneider will investigate the effects of having a parent who works a low-wage job with an unstable and unpredictable work schedule on child health and wellbeing. He will also assess the effects of policies designed to regulate unstable and unpredictable work scheduling practices on workers and their families.
The Shift Project released a new research brief that includes first-ever data that provides a window into Connecticut retail workers’ lives. The majority of those surveyed experience schedule instability and unpredictability, which create hardships and stress for themselves and their families. Entitled “Working in the Service Sector in Connecticut,” the research brief draws on survey data from 438 Connecticut service sector workers. It documents routine instability in work schedules in the retail and food sectors in Connecticut.
Shift researcher Daniel Schneider weighed in on this piece about family insecurity in American suburbs. According to Shift data, service-sector workers with unpredictable schedules experience stark income swings and financial insecurity.
Kristen Harknett met with Philadelphia City Council members and legislative staff to discuss The Shift Project findings pertaining to Philadelphia service sector workers. Harknett highlighted findings from The Shift Project research brief on unstable work schedule conditions reported by workers employed at large retail and food establishments in Philadelphia, and how these work schedules were linked to increased stress, difficulty meeting family caregiving responsibilities, and financial hardships.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a new story out that features Kristen Harknett and Daniel Schneider’s research on work scheduling in the service sector in Philadelphia. The article describes findings from The Shift Project and new legislation to regulate work schedules that has been proposed in Philadelphia. Previous press coverage of the Shift research brief on Philadelphia appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Citizen, the Billy Penn, and on WHYY.
The Hartford Business Journal reported on Shift's Connecticut brief as advocates geared up to bring SB321, a bill that would ensure a "fair workweek" for hourly workers, back to the Connecticut legislature for a vote. Of the 438 Connecticut on-call workers represented in our data, 66 percent reported having to keep their schedules open for work without guaranteed hours, and 74 percent of workers expressed a desire for more predictable work schedules.
