Finding workers isn't the only challenge
Hiring continues to be a problem for many retailers
Researchers examined 25.5 million employee shift time cards covering more than 100,000 employees across more than 500 U.S. retail grocery store locations over four years.
They found that a 1% increase in lateness and absenteeism is associated with a 2.3% decline in daily sales. The study also suggested that lateness and absenteeism can weigh down the employees who have to pick up the slack.
"Employee lateness or absenteeism can [also] have spillover effects, said Caleb Kwon a doctoral student involved with the study.
“Specifically, one employee being late or absent can negatively affect not only store operations, but also their coworkers by making them stay to make up for the lost labor."
Other findings included:
- Employees who were late on average by 21 minutes.
- Employees missed the start of morning shifts—between 6 a.m. and noon—most.
- Part-time workers struggled most with coming in on time.
- One employee’s lateness or absenteeism can increase the probability that coworkers will need to work longer.
The authors also offered this tip for managers: Address the problems through better training and scheduling practices. Reduce elements of surprise and give employees certainty about expectations.
"If they call people on Monday and say, 'Hey, you gotta work on Tuesday,' there's a higher likelihood they might not show up for work," said HBS Professor of Business Logistics Ananth Raman.
"Maybe they can't find daycare for a child, or maybe they have another job because you only employ them part-time to avoid paying for healthcare benefits."
Development provides homes for seniors in the middle
Housing developer 2Life Communities broke ground on a unique 174-apartment complex adjacent to the JCC in Newton yesterday.
The facility will be home for seniors with too much money to qualify for income-restricted housing but not enough to comfortably afford the vast majority of homes that are being built these days, Greg Ryan at the BBJ explains.
“We go where the market fails, and we figure out how to make it work, no matter what it takes. We don’t give up,” 2Life CEO Amy Schectman told Ryan. “Because it's not a market opportunity, it's a moral imperative. And when it's a moral imperative, you just bang your head against the wall until you figure it out.”
Nearly every one of the units has been pre-sold.
