Employment and Workplace

Parent's work schedules
Commentary

Why Making Parents’ Work Schedules More Predictable Could Benefit Kids

12.17.2019
Sigrid Luhr, Kristen Harknett, Daniel Schneider

As shoppers prepare for the holidays with trips to the mall, supermarket, and big box stores, many workers who stock the shelves and work the registers are scrambling to piece together child care to match their unpredictable work schedules.

Who Cares If Parents Have Unpredictable Work Schedules?: The Association Between Just-in-Time Work Schedules and Child Care Arrangements

Low-income working parents often face routine uncertainty in their schedules because of “just-in-time” scheduling practices that offer workers little notice of when they will be expected to work. In a new working paper, Kristen Harknett, Daniel Schneider, and Sigrid Luhr of P4A’s Research Hub at University of California, Berkeley, examine the consequences of unstable and unpredictable work schedules on child care arrangements.

William H. Dow
Multigenerational family gathers around newborn baby
Commentary

Caring for Our Families and Ourselves is Personal. The Need for Paid Leave is Universal.

9.16.2019
Elyse Shaw, Jillian West

When it comes to supporting families through paid family and medical leave policies, the U.S. lags behind other developed nations. What explains the lack of policy action? Perhaps we have not acknowledged paid leave policy for what it really is: a critical backbone of support that follows workers through all the major moments of their lives.

Medicaid Work Requirements: Results from the First Year in Arkansas

In June 2018, Arkansas became the first state to implement work requirements in Medicaid. Benjamin D. Sommers, Anna L. Goldman, Robert J. Blendon, E. John Orav, and Arnold M. Epstein of Harvard University provide the first independent assessment of early changes in beneficiary coverage and employment after the work requirements went into effect.

Benjamin Sommers
Doctor measures blood pressure of patient
Commentary

A New Medicaid Research Hub in a Time of Major Policy Change

2.12.2019
Benjamin Sommers, Heidi L. Allen, Anna L. Goldman

Across the country, changes to Medicaid policy are under way. They hold the potential to dramatically alter the landscape of health care for millions of low-income individuals.

The Cost of Shift Work Policies in the Manufacturing Industry

Numerous studies have shown that 12-hour shifts, rotating shifts, and unpredictable work schedules are associated with greater risk of chronic health conditions including mental illness, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and obesity. Although large manufacturing companies recognize the risks, they cite several arguments in favor of maintaining them, including the 24/7 production schedule, and in some cases, employee preferences for long shifts to maximize days off and pay.

Labor Market Effects of U.S. Sick Pay Mandates

To date, sick pay mandates have been implemented in seven states and dozens of cities across the U.S. Nicolas R. Ziebarth of Cornell University and colleague Stefan Pichler of ETH Zurich assess the causal labor market effects of nine city-level and four state-level pay mandates.

Nicolas R. Ziebarth

How Will Work Requirements in Medicaid Affect Low-Income Families?

While multiple studies show a positive association between employment status and improved physical and mental health, it is unclear whether this relationship is causal. Building on work in Kentucky, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, the research team will analyze the effects of Medicaid work requirements on coverage rates, access to care, and employment among low-income adults.