Over the past several decades, employers have used new developments in scheduling software to implement “just-in-time” schedules, canceling or creating shifts with little notice in response to changes in product shipments, customer traffic, and even weather. These scheduling practices shift the risk of doing business away from firms and onto U.S. workers and their families. Equitable Growth is working to build the evidence base on how these scheduling practices—and the interventions designed to curb them—affect workers, their families, and the economy as a whole, and what measures can be put into place to provide schedule stability.
Featured work
The hidden trade-offs of nonwage job amenities for U.S. workers
June 10, 2025
June 10, 2025
What makes a job ‘good’? How U.S. labor market data can provide insight to improve workers’ economic conditions
March 26, 2025
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Automated and algorithmic management is already here, invisibly shaping job quality for U.S. workers
January 24, 2023
January 24, 2023
New research shows unstable schedules do not offer more flexibility for U.S. workers
May 18, 2022
May 18, 2022
Factsheet: Six frequently asked questions about schedule quality and Fair Workweek laws across the United States
April 15, 2022
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Explore Content in Schedule Stability87
Earnings instability and mobility over our working lives: Improving short- and long-term economic well-being for U.S. workers
February 18, 2020
February 18, 2020
What does the research say about the FAMILY Act?
January 27, 2020
January 27, 2020
Who Cares if Parents have Unpredictable Work Schedules?: The Association between Just-in-Time Work Schedules and Child Care Arrangements
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
Hard Times: Routine Schedule Unpredictability and Material Hardship among Service Sector Workers
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
Uncertain Time: Precarious Schedules and Job Turnover in the U.S. Service Sector
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
What Explains Race/Ethnic Inequality in Job Quality in the Service Sector?
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
Parental Exposure to Routine Work Schedule Uncertainty and Child Behavior
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
How U.S. workers’ just-in-time schedules perpetuate racial and ethnic inequality
October 16, 2019
October 16, 2019
Vision 2020: Evidence for a Stronger Economy
November 1, 2019 9:00AM - 4:30PM
Extensive nonstandard work hours among U.S. low-income mothers hinder their kids’ enrollment in center-based childcare
August 12, 2019
August 12, 2019
How corporate headquarters could support store managers in providing predictable work schedules
May 6, 2019
May 6, 2019
Retail workers’ unpredictable schedules affect sleep quality: Evidence from the Gap
March 19, 2019
March 19, 2019
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