This is the first episode of a two-part series on the future of the American workplace.
As the worst pandemic in a century continues to grip the globe, and as millions of Americans join the “Great Resignation,” workers’ expectations are changing.
When it comes to pay, benefits (or the lack thereof), work-life balance, and the relationship between capital and labor, job quitters are making it clear the status quo is not good enough. But will this apparent leverage to squeeze better wages and work conditions endure?
In this episode of History As It Happens, labor economist Sylvia Allegretto discusses whether the pandemic-related shocks to the workplace could result in long-term changes, such as increased private-sector unionism, full-time teleworking or accelerated adoption of automation.
“People are tired of what they have been dealing with. Not just through the pandemic, which has been so terribly hard, but through the last 40 years,” said Ms. Allegretto, who is the co-chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley.
American workers are saying “wait a minute. It is clear that before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and after the pandemic, I need to have paid time off,” said Ms. Allegretto, referring to one prominent U.S. political issue – paid family leave – that causes no controversy in the rest of the developed world because it is commonplace.
To listen to the full interview with Ms. Allegretto about the future of work, the role of robots, and the influence of billionaires, download this episode of History As It Happens.
