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The #MeToo movement brought heightened attention to sexual harassment and a search for new approaches to combat it
Workplace sexual harassment is internationally condemned as sex discrimination and a violation of human rights, and more than 140 countries have enacted legislation prohibiting it. Sexual harassment increases absenteeism and turnover and lowers productivity and job satisfaction. Yet, it remains pervasive and underreported, as the #MeToo movement starkly revealed in October 2017. Standard workplace policies such as training and a complaints process have proven inadequate. Initiatives such as bans on confidential settlements and measures that support market incentives for deterrence may offer the most promise.
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Sorting across workplaces, and unequal rewards within them, are major causes of the gender wage gap
In most developed countries, women have closed the gap in educational attainment and labor market experience, yet gender wage gaps persist. This has led to an increased focus on the role of employers and employment practices. In particular, research has focused on the types of workplace where men and women work, their promotion prospects and the extent to which they are rewarded differently for similar work. Understanding the relative importance of these features, and the mechanisms that generate them, is necessary to design effective policy responses.
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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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