New on restaurant menus: Predictive scheduling

Restaurants and other businesses have improved their efficiency by adjusting workers'
schedules day by day and even hour by hour. If the weather turns bad, some waiters and
kitchen staff might get a call not to come in for hours they expected to work. A surge in
traffic after a local event might lead managers to call in extra workers. With this approach to
scheduling, the business is paying only for the workers it needs.
This practice poses difficulties for the workers, however. Many restaurant jobs are part-time,
and many employees say they want to work more hours. One option would be to take a
second part-time job, but being on call at the first job makes it impossible. Other challenges
with a schedule that changes from week to week are that these employees have difficulty
attending school and arranging childcare.
When variable schedules combine working through closing one night and starting at the next
day's opening. it may also be impossible to get enough sleep. Despite these challenges.
workers typically say they are available anytime, because they have found that employers
otherwise do not hire them.
In New Hampshire, Oregon, and some U.S. cities (including Chicago, New York.
Philadelphia, and Seattle), workers’ complaints about these conditions have led governments
to pass laws requiring "predictive scheduling." These laws specify the amount of notice (say,
seven days) that restaurants must give employees before they have to compensate them.
Employees called with less notice must be paid extra. Employers may also have to pay a few
hours' wages to employees who are on call but not called in. Some of the laws set a minimum
amount of rest time between the end of one shift and start of the next.
Where predictive-scheduling laws apply, restaurant managers are scrambling to meet the
challenge of predicting work far enough ahead, often with scheduling software such as
Homebase, shifts, and Hot Schedules, which estimate demand and provide a way for
employees to opt-in or out of working certain blocks of time. Even where these laws are not
in place, some managers consider predictable schedules as the right way to treat employees.
Mary Cho, co-owner of Dak & Bop in Houston, says scheduling is a constant challenge but
also "an essential part of being a good employer." because it recognizes that workers are
human beings with a variety of obligations, not just being available to work. She asks
employees to tell her when they're available, and then she uses Homebase to assign workers
to hours they have not blocked off.

Questions
1. Would you describe the way restaurants schedule workers as an example of a
"flexible" work schedule? Why or why not?
According to the text, restaurants and other businesses adjust workers' schedules day by day
and even hour by hour based on demand, which allows them to pay only for the workers they
need. This approach to scheduling is referred to as "predictive scheduling" and is designed to
improve efficiency. While this type of scheduling may be flexible for the business, it notes
that it poses difficulties for workers, such as difficulty attending school and arranging
childcare. Therefore, while the scheduling may be flexible for the business, it may not be
considered flexible for the workers.
 2. What would you say are a restaurant manager's ethical responsibilities in scheduling
workers? How would a policy of ethical scheduling practices affect a restaurant's
business outcomes?
The case does not explicitly state what a restaurant manager's ethical responsibilities are in
scheduling workers. However, it does mention that some managers consider predictable
schedules as the right way to treat employees. Mary Cho, co-owner of Dak & Bop in
Houston, is quoted as saying that scheduling is a constant challenge but also "an essential part
of being a good employer" because it recognizes that workers are human beings with a
variety of obligations, not just being available to work. Therefore, it can be inferred that a
restaurant manager's ethical responsibilities in scheduling workers may include recognizing
their employees' needs and obligations outside of work and striving to create a schedule that
is fair and predictable.
Some managers consider predictable schedules as the right way to treat employees, as
mentioned in the previous answer. By implementing ethical scheduling practices, a restaurant
may be able to improve employees’ satisfaction and retention, which could lead to a more
stable and experienced workforce. This, in turn, could lead to improved customer service and
overall business outcomes. Additionally, some states and cities have passed laws requiring
predictive scheduling, which suggests that there may be legal and reputational benefits to
implementing ethical scheduling practices. However, it is important to note that there may
also be costs associated with implementing these practices, such as the cost of scheduling
software or the cost of paying employees for on-call time.