New York City could add about 100,000 jobs this year, breaking the previous record. But not all of these are the kind of 9-to-5 positions we usually think of when we say the word “job.” Many people getting hired these days are working fragmented, unpredictable hours at the whim of their employers.

A few months into a job at Urban Outfitters on the Upper West Side, Zyad Hammad noticed a change: He was scheduled for fewer actual shifts, and was asked to be “on call.” This meant phoning the store a couple hours before the start of a possible shift.

“I would speak to one manager, and they would be like, 'Hold on a second, I have to ask to this other manager if we’re going to use you,'” Hammad said. “Finally someone picked up and would say, 'Yes, we are using you,' or, 'No, we’re not going to use you.'”

If there was work, he’d have to make himself presentable and hurry to the store.

Pretty quickly, Hammad realized this decision was not random. Managers were closely watching the volume of sales to determine whether additional workers were needed. 

Increasingly, employers in service sector industries are using advances in software to fine-tune employee schedules, allowing them to add staff at the last minute. It can save on costs for the businesses, but may prevent workers from securing steady paying jobs.