THE PROBLEM IS STRUCTURAL....:

For Hourly Jobs, White-Collar Perks: Factories and Other Employers Seek to Offer Workers More Control of Schedules (RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN, 10/02/11, The Wall Street Journal)

Companies in industries that rely heavily on hourly or low-wage workers, such as manufacturing, retail, food service, hospitality, health care and call centers, are exploring ways to provide more scheduling flexibility and control to a population that has rarely been offered such workplace benefits.

Some companies, such as health-care provider Kaiser Permanente and hotelier Marriott International, have implemented a range of innovative policies for their hourly staffers, such as providing paid time off in shorter, part-day increments, so workers can manage doctor or school appointments without having to take an entire day off. They are also providing more leeway on start and end times--allowing workers to shift their start time earlier to be available for a school pickup, for instance.

The company is considering allowing them to do some tasks, such as labeling, from home.

Some firms are also giving workers more lead time on their schedules, a problem for many low-wage hourly workers who then must secure family care on short notice. A typical retail schedule for the week beginning on a Sunday can be posted as late as the Thursday before. [...]

In some companies in industries such as retail, turnover rates among hourly workers are as high as 80% to well over 100%, says Ms. Williams. Replacing a single hourly employee can cost some 30% or more of a worker's annual salary, she says.

The policies are in response to the vast changes in the hourly work force in recent decades, including an influx of women, single parents and couples with tag-team shifts. Still, many companies have stuck with rules designed for a very different work force, in which men were the primary breadwinners for stay-at-home wives.

"They are not matching their workplace to the work force. That's a recipe for throwing money down the drain," says Ms. Williams.

...in that these are the folks who actually do real work.

Posted by oj at October 3, 2011 6:18 AM
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