Attitudes towards days worked where Sundays are scheduled

Abstract

Over the last two decades in Europe and North America, many more employers have been requiring Sunday work. The current study examines attitudes towards days worked in a North American retail sample where most employees had to work on Sunday. We use Exchange Theory to develop hypotheses examining how factors related to working Sundays, such as organizational tenure, pay premiums, scheduling control, and scheduling flexibility, are associated with attitudes towards days worked. To test the hypotheses, employees were categorized into groups based on whether they worked Sundays and the premiums they received for working Sundays. Organizational tenure, higher premiums for Sunday work, and greater scheduling control were related to more positive attitudes towards days worked. In addition, employees more willing to work Sundays for scheduling control and flexibility had more negative attitudes towards their days worked. We discuss the practical implications in relation to work schedule management.