Warehouse automation could increase retention rates by allowing flexible work schedules

In the face of a lingering warehouse worker shortage, a new survey finds that higher paychecks can help to close that gap, but workers are also calling out for more flexible scheduling and career development opportunities, according to Instawork, a warehouse and logistics labor marketplace.

Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses are still struggling to adjust to labor shortages, with nearly one third of respondents (31%) saying they’d had to forego business in 2021 due to a lack of workers, San Francisco-based Instawork said.

To adjust to that workforce shortage, 39% of those surveyed said they’d focused on hiring new staff, while 72% had increased pay as part of staff retention efforts. The average raise was $2.54 per hour for most light-industrial hourly full-time staff, Instawork found in its report, “The State of Warehouse Labor: Staying flexible in 2022.”

As these businesses look ahead to the remainder of 2022, fewer than 50% of surveyed companies are investing in flexible scheduling and career development, despite being a top request from workers, the firm found.

"We regularly hear from the hourly workforce about the critical need for work flexibility, higher pay, and opportunities for career growth," Kira Caban, head of strategic communications for Instawork, said in a release. "Addressing these needs will be critical for the industry to attract and retain the staffing necessary to stay on top of record levels of customer demand."