Workforce

Kill the 5-Day Workweek

COMMENTARY | Reducing Hours Without Reducing Pay Would Reignite an Essential but Long-forgotten Moral Project: Making American Life Less About Work.

  • By Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic

Middle-income and Frontline Workers Struggle to Find Affordable Housing

The pandemic has exacerbated the crisis for these households being able to buy and rent homes, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute.

  • By Brent Woodie

Garbage Truck Driver Shortage is Creating a Mess for Solid Waste Agencies

"As the weather warms up, the garbage is going to get more fragrant and it will be more important for governments to get on this,” says one industry official.

  • By Andrea Noble

Winners and Losers of the Work-From-Home Revolution

COMMENTARY | High-income workers at highly profitable companies will benefit greatly. Downtown landlords won’t.

  • By Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

Summer Camps Haven’t Fully Recovered. That Could Hurt Working Moms.

Without a full return of summer programs this year, working moms face months of uncertainty that could further splinter their relationship with the workforce.

  • By Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th

The Psychological Benefits of Commuting to Work

COMMENTARY | Many people who have been working from home are experiencing a void they can’t quite name.

  • By Jerry Useem, The Atlantic

State and Local Employment Remains Stubbornly Down

There's been some improvement in recent months, but there are still about 1.2 million fewer state and local public sector jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels. Most losses are in education.

  • By Bill Lucia

The Term Bullying Doesn’t Easily Fit the Workplace

COMMENTARY | Inappropriate behavior can be detrimental (even extremely detrimental) without being rightly described as “bullying.”

  • By Elizabeth Englander, The Atlantic

Pandemic Hasn’t Changed Partisan Divide on Paid Time Off

Three Democratic-led states have passed paid leave laws since March 2020.

  • By Sophie Quinton, Stateline

SBA’s Navigator Program Offering Grants up to $5M for Governments

The Small Business Administration will provide a total of $100 million to eligible organizations, including state and local governments, to assist underserved businesses.

  • By Andrea Noble

Ohio Lawmakers Approve Bill to Allow Teleworkers to Seek Commuter Tax Refunds

The issue of how to tax remote workers has been debated in several states, including New Hampshire, which filed a federal lawsuit against Massachusetts over the practice.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Will This State’s Workers be Forced to Pay Back Mistaken Unemployment Aid?

Missouri lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would have allowed the Department of Labor to forgive unemployment benefit overpayments. Officials are trying to determine what happens next.

  • By Andrea Noble
Featured eBooks
Public Health in State and Local Government
Management in City and County Government
Modernization of Government Systems

Survey: The Top Challenges for State and Local Government Workforces

The Covid-19 pandemic caused cuts in benefits, pay freezes, furloughs and layoffs, but there have been some positive changes this year, according to a recent survey.

  • By Brent Woodie

Multiple States Offer Bonuses to Entice Residents Back to Work

The payments, largely funded by federal coronavirus relief money, are designed to address a labor shortage that some economists say is due to slow wage growth.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Survey: The States Where Residents Feel Least and Most Safe

Concerns about mass shootings, personal violence, property crime and package theft are the things Americans are most worried about, according to a recent national safety survey.

  • By Brent Woodie

Racial Biases Persist in Public Sector Hiring. What can be done?

A new study shows that Black candidates are at an enormous disadvantage in making it through the government hiring process. But states and cities are finding solutions.

  • By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Report: 1 out of 6 Americans Stay in Jobs They Hate to Keep Their Health Insurance

Black employees and people making less than $48,000 per year were more likely to not quit to ensure continued access to health benefits, according to a West Health-Gallup survey.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

What Bosses Really Think of Remote Workers

COMMENTARY | People Who Work From Home Get Fewer Raises and Promotions. But There Might be a Way to Avoid the Remote-work Penalty.

  • By Olga Khazan, The Atlantic

Poll: 51% of Employees Still Working Remotely

Although the number of people working remotely has remained consistent over the past year, the percentages vary widely by occupation—and 40% of white-collar workers say they prefer home over the office, according to a Gallup poll.

  • By Brent Woodie

Not All Jobs Are Coming Back Post Covid: How States Can Help Retrain Workers

Rhode Island’s Back to Work program focuses reskilling workers through partnerships with local industries for in-demand jobs.

  • By Andrea Noble

There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2

COMMENTARY | The best job perk is self-determination.

  • By Amanda Mull, The Atlantic