Issue One: Flexibility, Predictability, and the Challenge of Planning the Modern Work Week
Let's Get Invested
Invested gives us the valuable opportunity to hear directly from stakeholders in New England and beyond in their own words on a community issue. Learn more about our publication, our work on employment in New England, and the basics of quality jobs.
Anatomy of a Quality Job
To kick off our four-issue series on employment, we sit down with a Boston Fed researcher to discuss the elements of a high-quality job, strategies to improve the quality of existing jobs, and impacts on policy and the economy.
Introduction: Flexibility, Predictability, and the Challenge of Planning the Modern Work Week
In our first issue of Invested, we consider the complex and crucial challenge of creating work schedules that meet a variety of needs, and learn why strategic scheduling is such an important element of quality jobs and successful businesses.
Worker Struggles: Unpredictability
In this section, we hear from three local workers dealing with unpredictable work hours and talk with an expert about reasons for the suspected rise in this type of scheduling, consequences for the workforce, and thoughts about possible solutions.
The Seasonality Challenge
In this section, Invested checks in with businesses on Cape Cod to hear about an area staffing shortage and how they are doubling down on existing employee-friendly scheduling practices to stay afloat in a competitive environment this year.
Hours that Come with the Industry: Faces of Flexibility
In this section, Invested talks with six employees across several industries with varying schedules and levels of flexibility. They share their experiences, how they've adjusted to their individual situations, and what they've learned from them.
Changing Schedules, Part I: Policy, Technology, and Expertise
In this section, we speak with a policymaker about legislative efforts around scheduling, two technology entrepreneurs about apps that bring workers into the scheduling process, and two experts about what a truly optimal schedule might look like.
Changing Schedules, Part II: Employer-Driven Solutions
In this section, we talk with six employers of varying sizes and models—from a global retailer to a small brewery and restaurant—who have proactively developed scheduling practices intended to benefit both their businesses and their employees.
Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations
What have we learned about employment scheduling challenges for workers and employers, and what policies, practices, and supports can help build better, more equitable, and more predictable schedules that benefit employers and employees alike?