Flexible hours controlled by management cause stress and damage lives of low-paid workers

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/uoc-fhc041816.php

Public Release: 19-Apr-2016
Flexible hours controlled by management cause stress and damage lives of low-paid workers
University of Cambridge

A researcher who embedded himself in several London branches of one of the UK's largest supermarkets found that management used a combination of 'flexed-time' contracts and overtime to control worker shifts to meet times of anticipated demand, while ensuring costs are kept to a minimum.

Workers at the supermarket chain were frequently expected to extend or change shifts with little or no notice, often to the detriment of their home and family lives - causing the majority of workers interviewed to feel negatively about their jobs.

Low wages and lack of guaranteed hours, combined with convoluted contractual terms, weak union presence, and pressure from managers that at times bordered on coercion ("...there are plenty of people out there who need jobs") meant that many felt they had no choice but to work when ordered, despite the impact on childcare, work-life balance and, in some cases, health - both physical and mental.

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The Government's website describes flexible working as something that "suits an employee's needs". However, Wood says there is a critical distinction - one overlooked by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) - between workers controlling their own schedules, and management imposing control.

"Control over flexible working enables a better work-life balance. However, such control is the privilege of high-end workers. When low-paid, vulnerable workers experience flexible working time, it is at the whim of managers who alter schedules in order to maximise profits, with little consideration for the work-life balance of employees," said Wood.

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