This piece draws attention to the rising safety risks for workers due to climate change, especially heat related risks and the policies that could help protect workers.

This piece features video excerpts from interviews with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Northwest Workforce Area, as well as Carpet One Floor and Home, to hear about their partnership in a small business advising pilot aiming to improve job quality.

This publication compiles seven lessons for small business prospecting, recruitment, and ongoing engagement. The lessons outlined in this tool are based on our experience working with Pacific Community Ventures and workforce partners to conduct job quality-focused business advising pilots with small businesses across the country. Although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to developing relationships with employers, we have found that asking lots of questions and tailoring engagement to the local context is key.

This article summarizes “Worker Power and the National Labor Relations Act,” an Opportunity in America event EOP hosted in 2022 to explore how the NLRA could be updated and strengthenedt to support workers’ right to organize and join a union.

This article discusses the growing use of subcontracting work in the tech industry and the negative consequences this “fissuring” has had on job quality for workers.

In this event, panelists discuss the role that employers, workers, government, philanthropy, and others can play in shaping how workplace technology is developed and deployed. How does technology affect job design? How can investments in both workers and technology improve business performance and increase employee retention and engagement? How can workers be engaged to help shape how technology is used? And what can we learn from human-centered design?

This tool provides information about ALICE households, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. These are households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level but not enough to afford their most basic needs, including housing, food, transportation, and health care. The tool provides a national overview and state- and county-level information about the percentage of ALICE households. Users can explore data by household factors including age, family composition, and race/ethnicity. United for ALICE has also published research focused on financial hardship in Black households. This tool has relevance for policymakers and employers focused on policies and practices related to wages. Organizations who support workers or employers may also find this tool useful.

This article investigates the impact of employee ownership on business and worker outcomes, including links to improved productivity, pay, job stability, and firm survival. The article dives further into the effects and causation relationship, as well as the challenges presented by employee ownership.

An interview with Kevin Oxley, owner of Carpet One Floor and Home and a regional business coordinator with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE). Carpet One Floor and Home was part of a pilot, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), and the CDLE, focused on advancing job quality among small businesses. A part of EOP’s Reimagine Retail Initiative, with the support of Walmart, the pilot deepened relationships between small businesses and workforce organizations in the pursuit of improving jobs and boosting businesses’ bottom lines. The pilot paired small businesses recruited by CDLE’s business services team with good jobs advisors from PCV’s business advising network to implement strategies from their new Good Jobs Good Businesses Toolkit. Businesses also received specialized state and regional support and resources from the CDLE business services team. Kevin and Carolyn share experiences with this pilot, the impact of the pandemic on businesses like Carpet One, and how collaborative and creative partnerships that improve job quality can benefit workers and businesses across the country.

This shared definition of job quality was created collaboratively by leaders in business, labor, workforce development, and policy as part of the Good Jobs Champions Group, an initiative of the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and the Families and Workers Fund. The definition provides a framework for understanding job quality, dividing the components of a good job into three categories: economic stability, economic mobility, and equity, respect & voice.