Read the Full Report By early adulthood, millions of young people have had early life experiences interacting with the juvenile justice or child welfare systems. While prior research finds that formerly systems involved (FSI) young people’ face lower rates of employment and lower wages, little is known about the jobs that they do get—their environments and conditions—and how those jobs impact their lives. New research from the Shift Project shows that many FSI young workers face job hos...| The Shift Project
Read the Full Article Algorithmic management (AM)’s impact on worker well-being has led to calls for regulation. However, little is known about the effectiveness and challenges in real-world AM regulation across the regulatory process—rule operationalization, software use, and enforcement. Our multi-stakeholder study addresses this gap within workplace scheduling, one of the few AM domains with implemented regulations. We interviewed 38 stakeholders across the regulatory process: regulato...| The Shift Project
Read the Full Article Middle-aged and older adults who are employed in precarious, high-strain jobs may face challenges to continued work, risking economic insecurity and poor wellbeing in retirement. Technology in the workplace, an under-studied aspect of work environments, could accommodate aging workers or could add stress to their jobs. This study examines how technology in sales and surveillance at work are related to job satisfaction and planned job exits among approximately 6,000 worke...| The Shift Project
Read the Full Article In the absence of a federal paid sick leave (PSL) standard, numerous U.S. states have passed laws to provide workers access to such benefits. These laws may be especially beneficial for low-wage workers whose employers often do not voluntarily provide PSL. We draw on novel data from The Shift Project (N = 68,930), which surveyed U.S. service sector workers between 2017 and 2023, to examine the effects of state PSL laws on proximate worker outcomes (i.e., PSL coverage a...| The Shift Project
Read the Full Article A new report from the Shift Project highlights the growing problem of indoor heat exposure among service sector workers in the United States. Analyzing survey data from more than 3,500 service workers, the researchers found that many indoor employees in retail and food service environments regularly experience temperatures above 80°F and feel uncomfortably hot at work. According to the report, 65% of these workers have felt overheated on the job, and 36% experience this...| The Shift Project
Read the Full Article The dignity of workers has long been a central concern of social scientists, with existing research documenting the variety of job conditions that threaten worker dignity. However, the literature on dignity at work has important limitations, including an overwhelming focus on older models of work (e.g., manufacturing), to the exclusion of the job conditions that are pervasive in the contemporary low-wage labor market, such as unstable and unpredictable schedules. Drawing...| The Shift Project
COVID-19 precipitated sharp job losses, concentrated in the service sector. Prior research suggests that such shocks would negatively affect health and wellbeing. However, the nature of the pandemic crisis was distinct in ways that may have mitigated any such negative effects, and historic expansions in unemployment insurance (UI) may have buffered workers from negative health consequences. The post COVID-19 Employment Shocks and Safety Net Expansion: Health Effects on Displaced Workers appea...| The Shift Project
This report aims to illuminate the state of compliance with California’s core labor standards and the opportunities and barriers to make them real for the majority of workers they cover. The post Early Effects of California’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage: Large Wage Increases with No Effects on Hours, Scheduling, or Benefits appeared first on The Shift Project.| The Shift Project
So called “self-checkout” machines have become one of the most ubiquitous, and one of the most fraught, forms of new technology in grocery stores, pharmacies, and retail stores generally. The post Please Wait, Help is on the Way: Self-Checkout, Understaffing, and Customer Incivility in the Service Sector appeared first on The Shift Project.| The Shift Project