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Shift Scheduling
Inside the Social World of Shift-Scheduling Apps | John Herrman looks under the surface of shift scheduling apps — used by retail workers, largely — like HotSchedules, and how they are used as much more
While HotSchedules is primarily used for setting work schedules, it also includes email-style messaging that owners, management and employees can use to talk. In many workplaces, this talk is limited to official business and haggling over shifts; in some, HotSchedules becomes a de facto social network.
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How people use the service is largely a reflection of workplace culture. A restaurant worker in South Carolina, who was granted anonymity by The New York Times to protect his job, described how a male co-worker once used the app to send inappropriate messages to a woman he worked with; when the co-worker was let go, he sent a message to the entire staff lashing out at his managers.
HotSchedules is, at its core, a tool for managers, and so managers dictate how, and how well, it’s used. “I’ve used HotSchedules at four to five different restaurants now,” said Sierra Cordell, a supervisor at a restaurant in Denver. “I’ve…
