Research: Stable Work Scheduling Succeeds; Behavior Change… Not So Much
Stabilizing worker schedules led to increased sales and enhanced employee wellbeing
In the early going, a typical employee wellness program doesn’t have much impact on healthcare costs, health, quality of life, or job performance. This, based on data from a cluster-randomized study of employee wellness at BJ’s Wholesale stores. (Cluster randomization means the worksites, not the individual participants, were randomized.)
But rumors of wellbeing’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. A cluster-randomized study of Gap stores showed that stabilizing worker schedules led to increased sales and — while it’s no panacea — enhanced employee wellbeing, especially sleep. (A separate major study confirmed that unstable schedules are strongly linked — more strongly even than low wages — to workers’ psychological distress, sleep disruption, and unhappiness.) The contrasting results from these studies, building on previous research, surely will persuade business leaders to prioritize organizational strategies over health behavior modification products.