WORK

The Unintended Impact Of Redundancies For All Employees
SOCIETY, TOP FOUR, WORK

The Unintended Impact Of Redundancies For All Employees

Redundancies have unintended consequences for all employees, even those who keep their jobs. Tech giants including X (then known as Twitter) and Facebook owner Meta announced thousands of job cuts globally in 2022 and 2023, as did other firms like entertainment company Disney, consultancy firm KPMG and phone company Vodafone. And let’s not forget those making redundancies as a result of company collapses such as UK retailer Wilko. In the UK alone, the number of planned redundancies by companies increased by 54% over the last year, from 153,635 to 237,017. This is likely to continue. Businesses are dealing with sharp rises in borrowing costs and continued wage growth, at the same as consumer spending is falling, affecting industries like advertising and retail. Of course, such news has a ve...
Uncovering The Reasons Why Fathers Thrive In Careers While Mothers Are More Likely To Work Worse Jobs
SOCIETY, TOP IMAGE, WORK

Uncovering The Reasons Why Fathers Thrive In Careers While Mothers Are More Likely To Work Worse Jobs

Mothers are more likely to work worse jobs – while fathers thrive in careers. Having a child is bad for a woman’s earnings. This is not only in the immediate period after the birth, but across her lifetime – as shown in research by recent economics Nobel prize-winner Claudia Goldin. On the other hand, men who become fathers are perceived as self-reliant and decisive. And they are often rewarded at work with opportunities and pay. Campaigns by groups like Pregnant Then Screwed make explicit that, in the UK, this “motherhood penalty” extends to pregnancy discrimination, the extortionate costs of childcare and ineffective flexible working policies. Yet we still know little about how it extends to job quality. Together with colleagues, I have carried out research to explore this “motherhood pe...
With The Hollywood Writers And Actors Strikes Over, What’s Next For Organized Labor, The Creator Economy?
TOP FOUR, WORK

With The Hollywood Writers And Actors Strikes Over, What’s Next For Organized Labor, The Creator Economy?

With the end of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the creator economy is the next frontier for organized labor. Hollywood writers and actors recently proved that they could go toe-to-toe with powerful media conglomerates. After going on strike in the summer of 2023, they secured better pay, more transparency from streaming services and safeguards from having their work exploited or replaced by artificial intelligence. But the future of entertainment extends well beyond Hollywood. Social media creators – otherwise known as influencers, YouTubers, TikTokers, vloggers and live streamers – entertain and inform a vast portion of the planet. For the past decade, we’ve mapped the contours and dimensions of the global social media entertainment industry. Unlike their Hollywood counterparts...
Michigan Data Shows Work Requirements Don’t Work For Domestic Violence Survivors — They Rarely Get Waivers They Should Receive For Cash Assistance
IMPACT, TOP FOUR, WORK

Michigan Data Shows Work Requirements Don’t Work For Domestic Violence Survivors — They Rarely Get Waivers They Should Receive For Cash Assistance

Work requirements don’t work for domestic violence survivors – but Michigan data shows they rarely get waivers they should receive for cash assistance. The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Very few people who have survived domestic violence are getting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) waivers from the work requirements and time limits tied to those benefits – even though they’re eligible for them, according to our new research. State governments administer the federal TANF program, commonly known as welfare or cash assistance, in accordance with their own guidelines. Federal law allows states to grant domestic violence waivers to TANF recipients when time limits, work requirements and other policies increase their risk of abuse o...
When You Encounter People With ‘Dark Personality Traits’ At Work Here’s What To Do
IMPACT, TOP FOUR, WORK

When You Encounter People With ‘Dark Personality Traits’ At Work Here’s What To Do

Have you ever suffered through tales of greatness from a self-absorbed “friend” who reminds you of Michael Scott from “The Office” – and not in a good way? Have you been betrayed by a colleague out of the blue, undermined on a project by the office mean girl, or had a work friendship dropped altogether without explanation? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may have been dealing with someone who has what psychologists term a “dark personality.” These people score higher on three socially undesirable traits: narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellian-ism. As an organizational scholar, I’ve spent years studying personality traits in the context of the sales profession. In recent work, my colleagues and I focused on the ways people with these dark personalities succeed in sales or...
‘Influencer’ Is Now A Popular Career Choice For Young People – Here’s What You Should Know About The Creator Economy’s Dark Side
POLITICS, VIDEO REELS, WORK

‘Influencer’ Is Now A Popular Career Choice For Young People – Here’s What You Should Know About The Creator Economy’s Dark Side

A 2019 poll found that children would rather be YouTubers than astronauts. It made headlines and led to plenty of grumbling about “kids these days”. But it’s not surprising that young people – up to 1.3 million in the UK – want to make their income by creating social media content.   You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here. The global influencer market was estimated to be worth $13.8 billion (£11.2 billion) in 2021. Individual influencers such as Zoella and Deliciously Ella are worth around £4.7 million and £2.5 million, respectively. Some 300,000 people aged 18-26 are already using content creation as their sole income source. The lifestyles we see advertised on social media are enticing, but is influencing a viable career path? Undern...
If Your Thinking Of Quitting Your Job Or Joining The ‘Great Resignation’? Here’s What An Employment Lawyer Advises
POLITICS, VIDEO REELS, WORK

If Your Thinking Of Quitting Your Job Or Joining The ‘Great Resignation’? Here’s What An Employment Lawyer Advises

Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon Record numbers of Americans have quit their jobs in recent months, with more than 4.4 million submitting their resignation in September alone. Millions more may be preparing to follow them to the exits – one survey found that around a third of workers wanted to make a career change. But one of the things I learned over the years as a lawyer and later as a professor specializing in employment law is that timing and preparation matter when it comes to quitting a job. So even if you have another job lined up, it’s worth considering a few factors that might influence whether you quit now or stay in your current role for a few weeks – or months. 1. No unemployment insurance In general, workers who quit are not eligible for unemployment insurance. In...
The good-guy image police present to students often clashes with students’ reality
WORK

The good-guy image police present to students often clashes with students’ reality

Eight days after George Floyd was killed during an encounter with Minneapolis police in an incident that sparked protests around the world, Minneapolis Public Schools terminated its contract for the Minneapolis police to provide officers in schools. “I value people and education and life,” school board chairwoman Kim Ellison told a local newspaper. “Now I’m convinced, based on the actions of the Minneapolis Police Department, that we don’t have the same values.” On June 4, Guadalupe Guerrero, the superintendent of Portland Public Schools in Oregon, followed suit, saying: “We need to re-examine our relationship” with the Portland Police Bureau. “The time is now,” Guerrero tweeted. “With new proposed investments in direct student supports (social workers, counselors, culturally-specific p...
Contrary To Popular Belief – Corporate Directors Don’t See Stopping Wayward CEOs As Their Job
POLITICS, WORK

Contrary To Popular Belief – Corporate Directors Don’t See Stopping Wayward CEOs As Their Job

BUSINESS Steven Boivie, Texas A&M University In December 2001, Enron Corp. collapsed into bankruptcy – at the time the biggest U.S. publicly traded company to ever do so – following years of fraudulent accounting. Two decades later, Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes faces criminal charges that she defrauded investors as she built her blood-testing startup. In both cases, the companies’ respective boards of directors have been blamed for allowing misdeeds to happen – or not doing more to prevent them. That’s because boards are broadly seen by regulators, governance experts, lawmakers, newspaper reporters and the public as the main body meant to hold senior executives accountable. Legally, their role as overseers is baked into the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which is the most recent major legisl...
Very good dogs don’t necessarily make very good co-workers
SOCIETY, WORK

Very good dogs don’t necessarily make very good co-workers

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are working from home in close proximity to our human children or fur babies. Cats have their fans, but I want to focus on dogs. Dogs are great companions. Science suggests owning one may benefit mental health. Just making eye contact with your dog can release the feel-good hormone oxytocin. But, as a researcher who studies emotions, procrastination and how people interact with pets, I can tell you that sometimes work emphasizes getting things done over feel-good chemicals. So what do we know about how this new-found time with your dog might be affecting your productivity? Good dog, bad dog There’s evidence that bringing your dog to work with you can reduce your perceived stress levels as the day progresses. And research on stress managemen...