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The takeaway: Manufacturing jobs have long been built around fixed schedules and predictable shifts. At a GE Appliances plant in northwest Georgia, that structure is starting to loosen, replaced by a system where workers pick their hours through an app. The setup is run through staffing firm MyWorkChoice, which maintains a pool of more than 900 people trained to handle different roles across the plant.
The employees log in to an app and choose when to work, signing up for four-hour blocks that fit their schedules. In a typical week, roughly half the pool – around 450 workers – pick up shifts, averaging about 24 hours.
The model took shape during the pandemic, when demand for appliances surged, but the company struggled to keep its lines staffed. "People were buying appliances in record numbers, because they were staying at home and they were cooking," Tony Gabbert, the plant's director of manufacturing operations, told NPR. "It was a great time, great problem to have when you're just selling product so fast that you can't hardly make them quick enough."
