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Firms interested in workplace diversity should
consider the post-hiring stage and why some minority employees choose to
leave
While many firms have recognized the importance
of recruiting and hiring diverse job applicants, they should also pay
attention to the challenges newly hired diverse candidates may face after
entering the company. It is possible that they are being assessed by unequal
or unequitable standards compared to their colleagues, and they may not have
sufficient access to opportunities and resources that would benefit them.
These disparities could affect the career trajectory, performance,
satisfaction, and retention of minority employees. Potential solutions
include randomizing task assignments and creating inclusive networking and
support opportunities.
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Employee trust in their managers allows a firm
to delegate decision-making, aiding both productivity and profitability
It is not possible for a formal employment
contract to detail everything an employee should do and when. Informal
relationships, in particular trust, allow managers to arrange a business in
a more productive way; high-trust firms are both more profitable and faster
growing. For example, if they are trusted, managers can delegate decisions
to employees with confidence that employees will believe the promised
rewards. This is important because employees are often better informed than
their bosses. Consequently, firms that rely solely on formal contracts will
miss profitable opportunities.
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Promoting accurate bargainer expectations
regarding outcomes from binding dispute resolution is worth the effort
Alternative dispute resolution procedures such as
arbitration and mediation are the most common methods for resolving wage,
contract, and grievance disputes, but they lead to varying levels of success
and acceptability of the outcome depending on their design. Some innovative
procedures, not yet implemented in the real world, are predicted to improve
on existing procedures in some ways. Controlled tests of several procedures
show that the simple addition of a nonbinding stage prior to binding dispute
resolution can produce the best results in terms of cost (monetary and
“uncertainty” costs) and acceptability.
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Cost–benefit surveys of employers help design
more effective training policies
Apprenticeship training programs typically last
several years and require substantial investments by training firms, largely
due to the associated labor costs for participants and instructors.
Nevertheless, apprentices also add significant value in the workplace. One
tool to measure the costs and benefits of training for firms is employer
surveys, which were first introduced in the 1970s in Germany. Such
cost–benefit surveys (CBS) help to better understand a firm's demand for
apprentices and to identify market failures. Therefore, CBS are an important
tool for designing effective training policies.
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Higher levels of air pollution reduce worker
productivity, even when air quality is generally low
Environmental regulations are typically
considered to be a drag on the economy. However, improved environmental
quality may actually enhance productivity by creating a healthier workforce.
Evidence suggests that improvements in air quality lead to improvements in
worker productivity at the micro level across a range of sectors, including
agriculture, manufacturing, and the service sectors, as well as at more
aggregate macro levels. These effects also arise at levels of air quality
that are below pollution thresholds in countries with the highest levels of
environmental regulation. The findings suggest a new approach for
understanding the consequences of environmental regulations.
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Infrastructure constraints are major obstacles
for working from home in developing countries
Work-from-home possibilities are lower in
developing than in developed countries. Within countries, not all workers
have equal chances of transitioning from the usual workplace to
work-from-home. Moreover, infrastructure limitations and lack of access to
certain services can limit the chances of effectively working from home.
Having a home-based job can affect, positively or negatively, work–life
balance, levels of job satisfaction and stress, and productivity. The
differential chances of working from home may end up increasing the levels
of income inequality between workers who can and those who cannot work from
home.
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Which leadership techniques and tools should
digital leaders use to communicate effectively with remote teams and gig
workers?
Remote work and digital collaborations are
prevalent in the business world and many employees use digital communication
tools routinely in their jobs. Communication shifts from face-to-face
meetings to asynchronous formats using text, audio, or video messages. This
shift leads to a reduction of information and signals leaders can send and
receive. Do classical leadership and communication techniques such as
transformational or charismatic leadership signaling still work in those
online settings or do leaders have to rely on transactional leadership
techniques such as contingent reward and punishment tools in the remote
setting?
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Working when sick is a widespread phenomenon
with serious consequences for workers, firms, and society
Many workers admit that at times they show up
for work even though they feel sick. This behavior, termed “presenteeism,”
is puzzling since most workers do not incur financial losses when staying
home sick. The various reasons behind presenteeism are person-related (e.g.
individuals’ health or job attitude) or work-related (e.g. job demands and
constraints on absence from work). Working when sick can have positive and
negative consequences for workers’ performance and health, but it also
affects co-workers’ well-being and firms’ productivity. There are various
strategies as to how firms can address presenteeism.
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Do performance-related pay and financial
participation schemes have an effect on firms’ performance?
A growing number of firms offer compensation
packages that link pay to performance. The aim is to motivate workers to be
more efficient while also increasing their attachment to the company,
thereby reducing turnover and absenteeism. The effects of
performance-related pay on productivity depend on the scheme type and
design, with individual incentives showing the largest effect. Governments
often offer tax breaks and financial incentives to promote
performance-related pay, though their desirability has been questioned due
to large deadweight losses involved. The diffusion of remote work will
increase the relevance of performance-related pay.
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A bidirectional relationship between
informality and inequality exists; in transition and emerging countries,
higher informality decreases inequality
Higher inequality reduces capital
accumulation and increases the informal economy, which creates additional
employment opportunities for low-skilled and deprived people. As a result,
informal employment leads to beneficial effects on income distribution by
providing sources of income for unemployed and marginalized workers. Despite
this positive feedback, informality raises problems for public finances and
biases official statistics, reducing the effectiveness of redistributive
policies. Policymakers should consider the links between inequality and
informality because badly designed informality-reducing policies may
increase inequality.
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