For over two decades, on-call scheduling has made it difficult for workers in the retail industry to balance between family life and job. Today, employers have changed their approach as the labor market continues to tighten. Employees no longer need to check the work schedule daily or risk being sent home before their shift ends. Companies are providing work schedule one week in advance. Companies have now agreed that ending on-call scheduling transform the scheduling process. That will make it easier to assign tasks and predict work schedule. Not only will the approach benefits employees but will also bring long-term benefits for the company.
Employers now realize that they need to invest in their workers. In the past, employers would consider worker’s wages as a fixed cost. They would use on-call management capabilities to minimize expenses by ensuring they have as few workers as possible. In fact, some companies could use applications that would highlight the time when to lay off some workers. Irregular work scheduling could take a substantial toll on employees.
Work-Family Conflicts
Irregular work scheduling makes it hard for employees to balance between family and job. It makes it difficult for an employee to have a second job as a part-time worker. On-call scheduling results in uncertain paychecks, which often makes your incomes to fall short. It also makes it difficult for a parent to give his or her children the attention they deserve. Such employees are likely to get stressed up at work and experience family-work conflict. On-call scheduling may also put your business on the wrong side of the law. In fact, retailers have now decided to end the practice to avoid hefty penalties and lawsuits.
On-call schedules may bring adverse effects on employees compared to those with regular work shifts. Irregular shifts tend to undermine employee performance, which ultimately impacts on the company’s bottom line. On-call scheduling brings interference between work and family time and may deny workers the time they need to interact with their family. Work-family conflict occurs for both salaried and hourly workers. Research has found that about 26% of employees with on-call schedules experience work-life conflicts. Conversely, only 11% of employees with regular shifts suffer family-work conflicts. On-call schedules are also associated with higher work-related stress compared to regular work shifts. Irregular schedules also diminish the time that parents should spend with their children.
Why You Need to End On-Call Schedules
However, businesses have now started to move away from irregular scheduling practices. They are now adopting work-friendly policies to increase job satisfaction, which results in improved performance. Retailers are now scheduling their work shifts two weeks in advance. In fact, workers are now declining work shifts that are less than ten days apart. Over time, employers have taken the incentive to end irregular work shifts. They want to retain their top talent by adopting worker-friendly policies. Companies that offer regular and consistent schedules are more appealing to workers than those with on-call schedules. That helps reduce costs throughout the recruitment process since turnover rate is minimum. The benefits of regular shifts go beyond employee satisfaction to improve your company’s bottom line.
Muhammad Aqib 
achsan uddin