Is flexible working the way forward for factory workers?
Manufacturing companies like GE Appliances are experimenting with flexible scheduling to address staffing shortages in factory environments. While remote work is not possible for assembly roles, app-based shift scheduling allows workers more control over their hours.
Why it matters
This highlights a shift in labor management, showing how traditional industries are adapting post-pandemic workplace expectations to retain talent.
Analysis: Factory workers may not be able to work from home, but flexible working arrangements may allow some more control over their lives
Since the Covid pandemic , office workers, managers and even executives have embraced systems that make their work life more flexible. For many, this has meant remote work. While there is a growing trend for organisations to force workers back to the office, many office workers still have the option to work from home at least part of the week.
But while remote work has been available to many office workers, there are several occupations in which the option to work remotely, or to work something other than a 40-hour work week in a traditional workplace, has not been practical or widely available. In particular, factory work has long been an occupation in which the idea of flexible working arrangements did not seem feasible or even relevant.
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