What is manager-controlled flexible scheduling?

Manager-controlled flexible scheduling (such as zero hours employment) is an increasingly common business practice and has important implications for employee health. In fact, zero hour contracts are just the tip of the iceberg; around a quarter of UK employees experience frequent alterations to their schedules, without consultation and often with little notice.

The term ‘manager-controlled flexible scheduling’ is used to cover a wide array of employment practices in which employees’ schedules are altered by managers: such as zero hour contracts, minimum hours contracts, flexible contracts, labour matching reviews - click here for more info [link to our report]. 

Manager-controlled flexible scheduling isn’t limited to forms of employment, often referred to as ‘contingent’, ‘non-standard’ or ‘a-typical.’ It effects full-time ‘standard’ workers too! Research demonstrates that manager-controlled flexible scheduling can lead employees across employment statuses to experience: poor-work life balance, insecurity, anxiety, stress and generally lower levels of psychological well-being. This in turn lowers workforce productivity, commitment and engagement.

When employees feel that they are in control of flexible scheduling it enables a better work-life balance and reduces work related stress. Flexible scheduling can both improve employees’ lives and benefit employers by enabling the matching of labour supply to demand. But at the moment insufficient consideration is being given to the damaging consequences that flexible scheduling can have for employees and their employers when poorly practised. 

Health and safety procedures can help transform harmful insecure scheduling into scheduling which benefits employees as well as employers. Find out more about the role of health and safety procedures in delivering flexible scheduling which works, at the University of Cambridge’s From zero joy to zero stress workshops. Click here for more information.