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Workers and the Workplace

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Demand for educated, versatile workers who can interpret complex information and adapt to innovation is higher than ever. RAND pursues research that helps people, organizations, and governments understand how workers can remain engaged and productive in a changing global economy. Studies address workforce development, gender equity in the workplace, working conditions, and workplace wellness programs.

Commentary

Most Americans Consider Themselves Middle-Class. But Are They?

May 14, 2021

There are different ways of determining who should be considered middle-class. But there is one thing they have in common: All reveal that the middle class in the United States is shrinking.
Commentary

Should Mothers Work? We've Been Asking the Wrong Question

May 10, 2021

As schools and day cares closed due to the pandemic, millions of women were driven from the labor market. What is it worth to the United States to have mothers in the workforce?

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Commentary

A $2.5 Trillion Question: What If Incomes Grew Like GDP Did?

Income inequality is an aspect of economics that resonates with many Americans: It feels like the rich are getting richer, while the rest are having a hard time just getting by. What would income distribution look like today if incomes grew apace with the economy?

Oct 6, 2020
Commentary

Unemployment's History with Black Workers

There's a long-standing accusation leveled at the U.S. unemployment insurance system: that it's structurally racist, deliberately discriminatory from the outset, and remains so today. That claim has been met with doubt. But why doesn't unemployment insurance treat all workers and all earnings the same?

Oct 5, 2020
Blog

How Russia Targets U.S. Elections, Black Workers and COVID-19, TikTok: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how Russia targets U.S. elections, Americans' increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, Black workers and COVID-19, and more.

Oct 2, 2020
Journal Article

A Policy Review of Employers' Open Access to Conviction Records

In this review, we find that (a) US employers' use of conviction information is not clearly aligned with the risk of future criminal behavior or employer costs, and (b) using such information leads to hiring errors that pose costs to society.

Sep 30, 2020
Report

Supporting a 21st Century Workforce in Puerto Rico: Challenges and Options for Improving Puerto Rico's Workforce System Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017

A workforce development system that supports Puerto Rico's economic development requires a K through postsecondary education system that emphasizes individuals' career pathways and aligns training with the evolving labor market and business needs.

Sep 30, 2020
Journal Article

The Effects of Job Characteristics on Retirement

We present results from a survey fielded in the RAND American Life Panel. The survey queried older workers about their current,desired, and expected job characteristics, and about how certain characteristics would affect their retirement decisions.

Sep 29, 2020
Commentary

Laid Off More, Hired Less: Black Workers in the COVID-19 Recession

As the U.S. economy tries to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are adding workers to their teams, yet one group is being picked last: Black workers. Getting back into a job later could do lasting harm to millions of Black Americans' incomes and wealth accumulation for years.

Sep 29, 2020
Multimedia

Unemployment Insurance: Why Does It Vary Across States?

RAND economist Kathryn Edwards discusses the variance of unemployment insurance across states and its effect on how workers are financially supported.

Sep 28, 2020
Report

Evaluation of California Senate Bill 863 Medical Care Reforms

This report uses data from the California Worker's Compensation Information System and interactions with subject-matter experts to evaluate the impact of Senate Bill 863 on medical care utilization and spending for injured workers in California.

Sep 28, 2020
Report

Federal Civilian Workforce Hiring, Recruitment, and Related Compensation Practices for the Twenty-First Century: Review of Federal HR Demonstration Projects and Alternative Personnel Systems to Identify Best Practices and Lessons Learned

The federal government is working to enable simple and strategic hiring practices. Toward this end, the authors identified best practices for recruiting, hiring, and compensation in federal demonstration projects and alternative personnel systems.

Sep 28, 2020
Commentary

When It Comes to U.S. Health Systems—Diversity Matters

Health care systems are a powerful and relatively well-resourced stakeholder in the effort to eliminate inequities both among the health workforce and among patient populations. The deliberate practice of increasing diversity within the workplace may have the power to create significant, positive impacts on workplace culture and patient care.

Sep 25, 2020
Commentary

It May Be Time to Rethink the Design of Jobs to Deliver Good Health for Workers

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the impact of poorly designed jobs on the health of workers was drawing attention. Now may be the time to fundamentally rethink the design of jobs so that they promote good health and lessen poor health and its costs.

Sep 25, 2020
Commentary

Managing the Challenge of Workforce Presenteeism in the COVID-19 Crisis

Presenteeism occurs when people work when in suboptimal health. Both presenteeism and absenteeism are key influences on workplace productivity, but presenteeism is by far the most significant. It's vital that employers identify and deal with presenteeism, for the health of their people as well as that of the organization.

Sep 25, 2020
Tool

Making Improvements to Stackable Credential Pipelines: A Toolkit on Using Data to Drive Improvement in Ohio Postsecondary Institutions

Stackable credential programs are designed to make it easier for students to earn multiple postsecondary credentials within a field. This toolkit provides steps for identifying issues in and making improvements to stackable credential pipelines.

Sep 23, 2020
Blog

Wildfires, America's Wealth Gap, Screening for COVID-19 at Work: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the growing risk of wildfires, how Americans' incomes have grown (or not), workplace screenings for COVID-19 symptoms, and more.

Sep 18, 2020
Multimedia

Tracking the Effects of COVID-19 on Lives and Livelihoods

RAND's Shanthi Nataraj draws on key findings from the RAND American Life Panel to explore how the pandemic is affecting Americans' physical and mental health, their daily lives, and their financial well-being.

Sep 17, 2020
Report

COVID-19 Screening in the Workplace

Workplaces are checking for COVID-19 symptoms verbally, with a paper form or app, with onsite temperature checks, or by combining these approaches. Which methods are likely to detect infection and help employees feel safer? And which are safe, feasible, and least problematic in terms of privacy?

Sep 17, 2020
Journal Article

Who Helps the Unemployed? Workers' Receipt of Public and Private Transfers

Unemployment increases the probability a worker receives financial assistance from their family, inclusive of all demographic subgroups.

Sep 17, 2020
Journal Article

Moonlighting to the Side Hustle: The Effect of Working an Extra Job on Household Poverty for Households With Less Formal Education

To understand who works multiple jobs and its effect on economic well-being, we used the Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate the effect of secondary earnings on household poverty.

Sep 17, 2020
Journal Article

Parents with an Unemployed Adult Child: Consumption, Income, and Savings Effects

In this paper, we directly approach the potential costs, inefficiencies, and inequities of aiding family members.

Sep 17, 2020

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