workers

20Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

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...

Mark Zuckerberg Can Sack 11,000 Workers But Shareholders Can’t Sack Him: It’s Called ‘Management Entrenchment’

19Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, POLITICS

Mark Zuckerberg Can Sack 11,000 Workers But Shareholders Can’t Sack Him: It’s Called ‘Management Entrenchment’

“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg told the 11,000 staff he sacked this week. But does he really? The retrenchment of about 13% of the workforce at Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, comes as Zuckerberg’s ambitions for a “metaverse” tank. The company’s net income in the third quarter of 2022 (July to September) was US$4.4 billion – less than half the US$9.2 billion it made in the same period in 2021. That’s due to a 5% decline in total revenue and a 20% increase in costs, as the Facebook creator invested in his idea of “an embodied internet – where, instead of just viewing content, you are in it” and readied for a post-COVID boom that never came. Since he changed the company’s name to Meta a year ago, its s...

Given The Challenges Of Supervising Remote Workers – How To Make Performance Reviews Less Terrible

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TOP FOUR, WORK

Given The Challenges Of Supervising Remote Workers – How To Make Performance Reviews Less Terrible

Few office workers seem to like performance reviews, those annual examinations of how well workers are doing their jobs. And many seem to outright hate – or fear – them. A 2015 survey of Fortune 1000 companies found that nearly two-thirds of employees were dissatisfied with performance reviews, didn’t think they were relevant to their jobs – or both. In a separate survey conducted in 2016, a quarter of men and nearly a fifth of women reported crying as a result of a bad review. The figures were even higher for younger workers. And that was during the much simpler pre-pandemic times, when pretty much all professional workers were in the office daily and could be assessed similarly. Things are trickier today, as some employees work entirely from home, others come to the office and still ot...

Tipped Restaurant Workers Especially Women Of Color Reported More Harassment During The Pandemic

25Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, SOCIAL JUSTICE

Tipped Restaurant Workers Especially Women Of Color Reported More Harassment During The Pandemic

Nearly half of women working in restaurant positions where they receive tips said they have experienced increased harassment from customers or supervisors during the two years of the pandemic, according to a new survey first shared with The 19th. Seventy-three percent of all women and 78 percent of women of color in these jobs said they regularly endure or witness “sexual behaviors from customers that make them uncomfortable,” the report said. The survey was released by the advocacy nonprofit One Fair Wage in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley’s Food Labor Research Center. “I was shocked. I could imagine that things either would be getting better or that things are pretty much the same. But people are saying that it just keeps getting so much worse, particularly for...

Child Care Workers Are Going Hungry – About 1 In 3

21Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Child Care Workers Are Going Hungry – About 1 In 3

Of the nearly 1 million child care workers in the United States, in a recent white paper, my colleagues and I found that 31.2% – basically 1 out of every 3 – experienced food insecurity in 2020, the latest year for which we analyzed data. Food insecurity means there is a lack of consistent access to enough food. This rate of food insecurity is anywhere from 8 to 20 percentage points higher than the national average. CC BY-ND. In Washington state and Texas, one study found 42% of child care workers experienced food insecurity, with 20% of child care workers experiencing very high food insecurity. High food insecurity is when a person reports reduced quality and variety of diet. Very high food insecurity occurs when a person reports disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. Anothe...

Even As A Record Number Quit Them – A Vast Majority Of American Workers Like Their Jobs

16Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

Even As A Record Number Quit Them – A Vast Majority Of American Workers Like Their Jobs

A record share of American workers are quitting their jobs, thanks in part to a strong economy and a labor shortage. Does that mean Americans are unhappy with where they work? The answer would seem to be yes, according to many economists and other observers. That’s the narrative driving the Great Resignation, in which workers are simply fed up with their current jobs and demanding something better. Survey data I’ve been collecting during the pandemic, along with social survey results from previous years, however, suggests this is far from the whole story. Rather than being motivated simply by dissatisfaction, it appears many of them are simply taking advantage of a strong economy to look around, while for others, the pandemic has prompted them to consider their options. Are you satisf...

Research Shows 63% Of Workers Who File An EEOC Discrimination Complaint Lose Their Jobs

13Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE

Research Shows 63% Of Workers Who File An EEOC Discrimination Complaint Lose Their Jobs

Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Carly McCann, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and J.D. Swerzenski, University of Massachusetts Amherst People who experience sex discrimination, race discrimination and other forms of discrimination at work aren’t getting much protection from the laws designed to shield them from it. That’s our main finding after analyzing the outcomes of 683,419 discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2012 to 2016 – the most recent data available. We focused on workplace complaints filed related to race, sex, disability, age and national origin. Those are the five most common categories. We found that at least 63% of workers who filed a complaint eventually lost their job. That number was...

Part Of The Online Gig Economy, Sex work Is A Lifeline For Marginalized Workers

18May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIETY

Part Of The Online Gig Economy, Sex work Is A Lifeline For Marginalized Workers

More people are getting involved in more types of sex work, especially with the help of the internet, despite criminalization of their occupations and activist opposition, some of which threatens people’s lives. My research interviewing a wide range of sex workers finds that more people are involved in the industry, including marginalized people who are finding it a literal lifeline in tough economic times. The internet has diversified forms of sex work, aided in the industry’s growth and interconnected previously unconnected types of sex work. Demand for amateur, non-studio-based porn has grown, expanding online pornographic industries like camming, in which performers interact with viewers. Online sex workers post content on specialized hosting sites. Other websites connect phone sex wo...

Benefiting Workers, Their Families And Their Employers Too – Biden’s Paid Leave Proposal

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Benefiting Workers, Their Families And Their Employers Too – Biden’s Paid Leave Proposal

The Biden administration is proposing a massive expansion of federal benefits through a 10-year US$1.8 trillion package that includes new spending on child care, the continuation of the expanded child tax credit and more robust nutrition programs. Notably, it would introduce a new federal paid family leave benefit costing an estimated $225 billion over the next decade. If it is fully phased in as proposed, workers could get up to $4,000 a month for a total of 12 weeks in paid leave to care for a newborn, another loved one or themselves. The Conversation U.S. asked Joya Misra, a sociologist who studies how public policies influence inequality, four questions about paid leave in the U.S. 1. How much of a change would this be? Federal law currently guarantees many employed Americans the righ...

Legions Of Remote Workers May Be Inspired To Flee America’s Big Cities The Same As Digital Nomads

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE

Legions Of Remote Workers May Be Inspired To Flee America’s Big Cities The Same As Digital Nomads

If one thing is clear about remote work, it’s this: Many people prefer it and don’t want their bosses to take it away. The pandemic has spurred many workers to contemplate their futures – and whether they ever want to return to office life. Edward Hopper, 'Morning Sun' (1952) via hermien_amsterdam/flickr, CC BY-NC-SA When the pandemic forced office employees into lockdown and cut them off from spending in-person time with their colleagues, they almost immediately realized that they favor remote work over their traditional office routines and norms. As remote workers of all ages contemplate their futures – and as some offices and schools start to reopen – many Americans are asking hard questions about whether they wish to return to their old lives, and what they’re willing to sacrifice or...