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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.

Report
How to Strengthen Virginia's Health Care Workforce
Like the United States as a whole, Virginia faces a significant shortage of health care workers in nursing, primary care, and behavioral health. Multiple interventions could boost recruitment, retention, and the structural efficiency of health care delivered by these professions.
Nov 15, 2023
Report
Vetting National Security Personnel: What Contributes to Bias and Inequity?
Applicants for the national security workforce must provide detailed personal information—such as race or ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and neurodivergence—in order to gain a security clearance. What potential bias or inequities exist within this vetting process?
Oct 31, 2023

Topics in Focus:

Explore Workers and the Workplace

Research Brief
States Can Take Steps to Address Potential Barriers to Equity in Stackable Credential Pipelines
The authors examine barriers to stacking credentials for low-income individuals -- limited chances for stacking in some fields and institutions, insufficient information, and challenges moving between programs -- and consider solutions from stakeholders.
Apr 13, 2023
Research Brief
Do Low-Income Students Benefit from Stacking Credentials? Descriptive Evidence from Colorado and Ohio
The authors describe findings from a study on how frequently low-income individuals are stacking credentials, whether stacking increases wage-earning opportunities, and which fields provide the best returns from stacking.
Apr 13, 2023
Commentary
Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Requires a 'Compensation-First' Approach
The benefits and costs of large-scale professionalization efforts in early childhood education (ECE) are not yet clear. And we know little about the implications of such policies for a workforce that already faces a great deal of instability. However, research on ECE professionalization offers some lessons.
Apr 12, 2023
Report
Improving Transition Assistance for Reserve Component Members
The authors identify unmet needs for transitioning reserve component members, assess the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), and recommend ways to improve TAP's effectiveness in addressing reserve component members' transition needs.
Apr 12, 2023
Journal Article
Methodology for a Six-State Survey of Primary Care Nurse Practitioners
To overcome the limitations of administrative data, we fielded a cross-sectional, mixed-mode (mail/online) survey of primary care NPs in six states to collect data directly from NPs on their clinical roles and practice environments.
Apr 12, 2023
Journal Article
Surveying Primary Care Nurse Practitioners: An Overview of National Sampling Frames
The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of national sampling frames that can be used by researchers interested in surveying or studying the U.S. primary care nurse practitioner workforce.
Apr 12, 2023
Journal Article
Practice Patterns, Work Environments, and Job Outcomes of Rural and Urban Primary Care Nurse Practitioners
This study compares urban and rural NPs using data from a survey of 1,244 primary care NPs in Arizona, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
Apr 12, 2023
Commentary
The Army Should Be Looking for a Few Older Soldiers
Recruiting older people to enlist in the Army could help increase numbers, quality, and talent. Individuals who enlist over the age of 21 perform better as soldiers on several metrics. Recruiters have noted that older recruits are of higher quality, more focused, and more motivated.
Apr 7, 2023
Journal Article
Understanding Decision Making Around Changing the State Pension Age: A Review of International Evidence
This report presents findings from a review commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions to investigate how high-income OECD countries change State Pension age (SPa) and the variables considered when they changed the SPa.
Apr 5, 2023
Report
Assessing the Readiness for Human Commercial Spaceflight Safety Regulations
What is the progress of the commercial space industry in adopting voluntary standards for participant safety, and towards meeting key metrics that would indicate readiness for regulation?
Apr 3, 2023
Blog
Violence in Schools, Neurodiversity and National Security, Drug Cartels: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on preventing school violence, dealing with drug cartels, the benefits of a neurodivergent national security workforce, and more.
Mar 31, 2023
Report
Emerging Options for Field-Grade Officer Promotions in the U.S. Air Force
The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act established an alternative framework for promotion policies for military officers. The authors examine whether shifting to this framework would be beneficial and how it would be implemented.
Mar 29, 2023
Commentary
Veterans' Employment During Recessions
Veterans and nonveterans have different employment support needs and are affected differently by recessions. Understanding these differences can help veterans, employers, policymakers, and veteran-serving organizations prepare for economic shocks and uncertainty.
Mar 29, 2023
Report
Neurodiversity and National Security: How to Tackle National Security Challenges with a Wider Range of Cognitive Talents
This report provides research and analysis for national security managers and employees who seek to better understand neurodivergence and neurodiversity and desire simple steps to achieve neurodiverse inclusivity for national security workplaces.
Mar 27, 2023
Research Brief
Why National Security Needs Neurodiversity
Neurodiversity, like other forms of diversity, can strengthen an organization. Members of the neurodivergent population have skills that can be beneficial in many fields of interest to national security. These include pattern recognition, problem-solving, visualization, and memory.
Mar 27, 2023
Report
How Did COVID-19 Affect Prison Education?
Many U.S. correctional systems shut down or cut back on education and vocational programs because of the pandemic. But having to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions helped accelerate the adoption of online and hybrid learning models and the use of technology for prison education programs.
Mar 23, 2023
Periodical
RAND Review: March-April 2023
The cover story describes how K-12 schools can build trust with students to increase threat reporting and strengthen school safety. The Q&A with Ashley Woo explores how restrictions on race- and gender-related topics are affecting teachers.
Mar 22, 2023
News Release
On World Sleep Day, New Research Reveals the Socioeconomic Impact of Insomnia on Global Populations
Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder and exacts a significant toll on an individual's mental and physical health, quality of life, and productivity. But the consequences of insomnia go well beyond the individual, with cascading effects on families, employers, and global economies.
Mar 17, 2023
Q&A
Amplifying Teachers' Voices: Q&A with Ashley Woo
Ashley Woo, an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, aims to bring teachers' perspectives into policymaking. In this interview, she discusses her research on teachers' responses to state restrictions on how they can address topics related to race and gender in the classroom.
Mar 16, 2023
Report
America's Opioid Ecosystem
Patterns and consequences of opioid use are changing dramatically. Researchers provide a nuanced assessment of America's opioid ecosystem, highlighting how leveraging system interactions can reduce addiction, overdose, suffering, and other harms.
Mar 16, 2023

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Hans Pung

President, RAND Europe

Hans Pung is president of RAND Europe, a not-for-profit public policy research organisation that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. With offices in Cambridge (UK), and Brussels (BE), RAND's staff undertakes empirical studies for public, private, and third…
Diana Gehlhaus

Adjunct Policy Researcher

Diana Gehlhaus is an adjunct policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on the intersection of tech and talent, including the U.S. artificial intelligence workforce; education and workforce development policy; youth career and educational decisionmaking; youth workforce…

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