Legion Report: Schedule Flexibility Outranks Pay as Key Driver of Hourly Workforce Retention

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Legion Technologies, a workforce management (WFM) innovator, has released its annual State of the Hourly Workforce Report. Based on surveys of more than 1,500 hourly employees and 600 managers, the report details the most pressing challenges and opportunities shaping the employment experience, including schedule flexibility, wage access, economic uncertainty, and workplace technology.

Schedule Flexibility Emerges as Top Retention Driver

This year's findings indicate that schedule flexibility has become a critical issue for both employees and managers—surpassing even competitive pay. Among hourly employees, 96% said schedule flexibility is the number-one benefit motivating them to accept a new job, while 48% of managers identified it as the most challenging aspect of retaining current hourly workers. Given that many employers still rely on manual scheduling processes, it is unsurprising that employee scheduling ranks as the top function managers want automated, enabling them to create optimized schedules that balance employee preferences and availability with business needs.

“Hourly employees form the backbone of the American workforce, and when our data shows that nearly two-thirds of them plan to quit their jobs in the next year, it’s clear that employers cannot afford to neglect their employees’ needs around flexibility and pay,” said Sanish Mondkar, CEO and founder of Legion Technologies. “The pandemic forced countless businesses to evolve their processes, but this era of change is far from over, and the power shift in favor of employees is here to stay. As the labor shortage continues, companies will need to evaluate how outdated labor processes and technology may be holding them back from giving their employees the experience they deserve. If they have not already, now is the time to embrace intelligent automation and optimize their labor strategy to enable that flexibility workers demand.”

Persistent Labor Shortage and Retention Risks

Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, the hourly workforce—hailed as “essential” during the pandemic's peak—has experienced repeated waves of disruption. After three turbulent years, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an unemployment rate near pre-pandemic lows. However, significant labor shortages persist in sectors such as retail and food service, which depend heavily on hourly frontline labor. Legion's data indicates that 62% of hourly employees plan to leave their jobs within the next 12 months, and among them, 64% intend to exit their current industry entirely. To prevent a mass exodus, employers must modernize the employee experience for the 76 million hourly workers and managers who power their businesses.

Flexibility Trumps Pay, but Wage Access Gains Ground

The research further reveals that employees prioritize schedule flexibility above all other benefits, including increased wages. Specifically, 48% of managers said that “not providing the schedule flexibility employees want” was the most challenging part of retaining hourly employees over the past six months, compared with 44% who cited not offering competitive pay. This flexibility gives employees greater control over their lives and enhances job satisfaction, while also accommodating multiple jobs—a situation reported by 20% of respondents.

Pay flexibility also emerged as a key motivator: 43% of hourly workers said they would consider a new job if it offered early wage access (EWA), and 62% expressed a preference for weekly pay. Demand for early pay has grown 20-fold over the past three years, signaling that instant pay is becoming a must-have benefit.

Additional Employee Survey Findings

From the survey of 1,513 hourly employees, other notable findings include:

• 78% said their work environment has been impacted by economic uncertainty.
• The top factors making hourly jobs undesirable are: insufficient benefits (48%), undesirable working conditions (45%), and lack of schedule flexibility (44%).
• Of the 20% of hourly employees holding more than one job, 63% said it is because one job does not pay enough to cover rent and food.
• When asked which type of scheduling flexibility mattered most, employees rated the following highest:
  • The ability to choose the number of hours worked per week (42%)
  • More scheduling options (30%)
  • The ability to seamlessly pick up extra shifts (28%)

Manager Challenges and the Case for Automation

Managers face distinct difficulties, exacerbated by pandemic aftershocks and ongoing labor shortages. According to the 628 managers surveyed, the most difficult part of managing hourly schedules is matching employee preferences and availability with business needs. Compounding this challenge is the continued reliance on outdated methods: 20% of managers still use paper-based processes, and 27% use Google Docs or similar software—both time-consuming and error-prone. This underscores the need for automated scheduling solutions, such as Legion's WFM platform, which can generate optimized schedules meeting both business and employee needs in seconds.

Additional Manager Survey Findings

• If administrative burdens were removed, managers would spend more time coaching and developing teams (62%) and interacting with customers (30%).
• 52% of hospitality managers reported difficulty finding candidates who were not underqualified, while nearly 30% of retail managers saw an influx of overqualified candidates.
• 28% of managers said managing call-outs and no-shows is the most time-consuming part of scheduling.
• The top two ways employers could help managers were providing tools to ease team communication and reducing time on administrative tasks like schedule creation.

To view the full 2023 State of the Hourly Workforce Report, click here.

About Legion Technologies

Legion Technologies delivers an innovative workforce management platform that enables businesses to maximize labor efficiency and employee engagement simultaneously. The Legion WFM platform is intelligent, automated, and employee-centric, proven to deliver 13x ROI through schedule optimization, reduced attrition, increased productivity, and improved operational efficiency. Backed by Norwest Venture Partners, Stripes, First Round Capital, XYZ Ventures, Webb Investment Network, Workday Ventures, and NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Legion is recognized as one of America's fastest-growing private companies per the 2022 Inc. 5000 and Deloitte 500 rankings. For more information, visit https://legion.co and follow on LinkedIn.