Reimagine Retail Chicagoland Supports Stable Scheduling in Chicago's Workforce

CHICAGO - June 17, 2019 - PRLog -- As Chicago's City Council discusses the proposed fair-workweek law, Reimagine Retail Chicagoland, a collaborative workforce initiative, supports the practice of stable scheduling.

In retail, unpredictable schedules for employees have been considered an inevitable outcome of stores' need for profitability. "This instability has detrimental effects on everything from work performance and turnover to family economic security and the well-being of workers and their children," said Susan Lambert, Associate Professor and Director of the Employment Instability, Family Well-Being and Social Policy Network of the University of Chicago. Dr. Lambert, along with Distinguished Professor Joan C. Williams of the Center for WorkLife Law at University of California, Hastings College of the Law and Associate Professor Saravanan Kesavan of the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, authored The Stable Scheduling Study.

Key findings of the research indicated the intervention of stable scheduling produced significant but modest increases in the three dimensions of schedule stability (consistency, predictability, and worker input) and resulted in increased labor productivity, signaling a high return on investment. Sales in stores with more stable scheduling increased by 7% due to higher conversion rates and basket values made possible through improved retention of more seasoned associates.

Additional research from Alison Dickson, MUPP Instructor, Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Lonnie Golden, PhD Professor Economics and Labor-Employment Relations, Penn State University, and Robert Bruno, PhD Professor and Director, Labor Education Program Project for Middle Class Renewal University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign entitled Scheduling Stability: The Landscape of Work Schedules and Potential Gains from Fairer Workweeks in Illinois and Chicago, showed that unpredictable work schedules interfere with time for family and home lives for over 70 percent, and 40 percent of surveyed workers experience issues with childcare, parenting or direct caregiving obligations.

"The time is right for employers to take the initiative to improve stable scheduling in ways that work for them and for their employees," said Cyndi Solitro, Director of Reimagine Retail Chicagoland. "The mission of Reimagine Retail Chicagoland is to partner with the retail sector to improve the retention and advancement of frontline workers and stable scheduling contributes to a win-win situation," she added.

For more information about The Stable Scheduling Study, please visit http://worklifelaw.org/publications/Stable-Scheduling-Study-Report.pdf. For more information about the Scheduling Stability research, please visit https://ler.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Scheduling-Stability-final-embedded-text.pdf. For more information about Reimagine Retail Chicagoland including a link to a webinar about stable scheduling co-hosted with Women Employed featuring Dr. Lambert, please visit https://www.reimagineretailchicago.org/

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ABOUT REIMAGINE RETAIL CHICAGOLAND

Reimagine Retail Chicagoland is a collaborative of 12 Chicago organizations helping to improve the quality of jobs for workers in entry-level position, creating pathways for advancement in retail and related sectors, and increasing retention for employers. Learn more about Reimagine Retail Chicagoland at https://www.reimagineretailchicago.org/