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Return-to-Work Programs and Policies

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Commentary
Working Moms Are at Risk of Being Left Behind
Being a working parent was hard enough before the pandemic. If COVID-19 intensifies the perception that parenting is at odds with work, then there may be devastating career consequences for working mothers.
Jun 11, 2020
Commentary
A Path to Recovery from COVID-19 for Small Businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic has hammered small businesses around the United States. We spoke with 21 small business owners to learn more about the challenges they are facing and how they might best be helped.
Jun 25, 2020

Explore Return-to-Work Programs and Policies

Journal Article
Evidence on the Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders: Evidence Summary to 29 April 2021
This report summarises published scientific evidence on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted key workers in healthcare, construction, education, transport and public services with work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
Jul 28, 2023
Report
Improving Employment Outcomes for the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Returning Citizens
Gainful employment is a key factor in reducing recidivism, but individuals released from federal prisons face significant barriers to employment. This report presents findings from a workshop held to explore related challenges and opportunities.
Jun 26, 2023
Journal Article
Explaining Heterogeneity in Use of Non-wage Benefits: The Role of Worker and Firm Characteristics in Disability Accommodations
Using administrative data in Oregon, we document significant dispersion in accommodation rates across workers and firms. We decompose the variance in accommodation use, finding that firm characteristics explain 29% of this variance.
Aug 24, 2022
Commentary
Helping Mothers Return to Work Is a Gender Equality Issue
Employers and policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring that women are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when they have children. Policies such as access to family leave, job protection, and childcare options can play a large role.
Jan 21, 2021
Journal Article
After Parental Leave: Incentives for Parents with Young Children to Return to the Labour Market
This study examines the employment situation of parents with young children in the EU and specifically, the factors that affect parents' return to the labour market.
Nov 25, 2020
Multimedia
From the Community Corrections Lens
In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Veronica Cunningham and Nicole Jarrett offer their perspectives on the next steps that policymakers, practitioners, and employers can take to equalize employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records. RAND's Dionne Barnes-Proby hosts.
Jul 29, 2020
Multimedia
Practitioners’ Views on Barriers and Opportunities
In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Joshua Miller, Toney L. Earl Jr., Tony Lewis Jr., and Andrew Morton discuss strategies for overcoming barriers and improving employment outcomes through reentry, community supervision, and employer-driven programs.
Jul 22, 2020
Commentary
National Security and Workplace Flexibility Aren't Incompatible After All
For years, the U.S. Defense Department dismissed workplace flexibility as being incompatible with national security. But during the pandemic, flexibility became a matter of survival for all employers, including Defense. The question now is whether it will keep recent adaptations or go back to its rigid ways.
Jul 17, 2020
Multimedia
Certification, Background Checks, and Stigma
In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Peter Leasure, Michael Vuolo, and Naomi F. Sugie present evidence from employer and job-seeker studies on Ban-the-Box, Certificates of Relief, and background checks.
Jul 15, 2020
Multimedia
How Do People Stop Committing Crimes?
In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, senior policy researcher Shawn D. Bushway explains the concept of desistance, or how and when people with criminal records stop offending.
Jul 8, 2020
Multimedia
COVID-19 Briefing Series: Examining the Post-COVID-19 Workforce
In this briefing, RAND's Christian van Stolk discusses how policymakers and employers can rethink and retool the workplace to support employee health and well-being and maintain productivity during the pandemic.
Jun 19, 2020
Journal Article
Workplace Health: Long-Term Sickness Absence and Capability to Work
Researchers provided evidence on reducing sickness absence in the workplace to support National Institute for Health and Care Guidance (NICE) guidelines on how to help people return to work after long-term sickness absence.
Jun 11, 2020
Commentary
Reopened Offices Won’t Mean Back-to-Normal for Caregivers
As some workplaces start to reopen and work-from-home guidelines relax, corporate leaders may hope things will quickly get back to normal. But for employees who are also caregivers, that's likely not going to be the case.
Jun 4, 2020
Commentary
The Wealth Gap Widens
Whether history considers the current downturn a recession or a depression, it will reinforce the growing inequality in the United States. Navigating this crisis without substantially increasing inequality would require an unwavering commitment to support displaced workers and small-business owners.
Jun 1, 2020
Blog
COVID-19's Effects on U.S. Schools, Vaccine Uptake, Small Businesses: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how COVID-19 has affected U.S. schools, potential barriers to vaccine uptake, what small businesses need to survive, and more.
May 29, 2020
News Release
Preparing Now Can Help Small Businesses Revive More Quickly as the Economy Reopens, Business Owners Tell RAND
As small businesses reopen after a lengthy pandemic shutdown, one key challenge will be finding working capital to replenish inventories and pay employees until revenue returns to normal.
May 27, 2020
Commentary
To Preserve Jobs, America's Employers May Have to Get Creative
With about 38.6 million Americans filing for unemployment insurance benefits since the end of February, it is clear that COVID-19 has turned the world of work upside down. One way to reduce the economic damage may be job-sharing, an approach that focuses on maximizing jobs by reducing workers' hours rather than resorting to layoffs or furloughs.
May 26, 2020
Commentary
How Small Businesses Are Surviving the Pandemic
Small-business owners are facing many challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. What kinds of policies might help them in the immediate term? And what will they need to thrive once the public health crisis has passed?
May 22, 2020

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