Overview
Employer practices such as hiring, scheduling, promotion, supervision, and on-the-job training determine workers’ day-to-day reality and long-term prospects in the labor market. The growing prevalence of independent contractors and contingent workers underscores the continued fissuring of employer-employee relationships.
Working Knowledge
Employer practices
December 12, 2022
Blog Article
Study Finds That 62 Percent of Organizations Devote Little to No Resources to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Published by the Boston College School of Social Work, this article highlights key findings from the National Study of Workplace Equity, a survey of over 1,000 workplaces on DEI practices.
December 12, 2022
Employer practices
October 20, 2022
Blog Article
A Preview of WorkRise’s 2023 Funding Opportunities: Catalyzing Partnerships for Equity and Impact
In January, WorkRise will launch three new funding opportunities for research to inform solutions that advance economic mobility for workers earning low wages in the US labor market.
October 20, 2022

Employer practices
June 17, 2022
Blog Article
Employer Practices and Economic Mobility: What Does the Evidence Say?
A new report summarizes research on employer practices that can support economic mobility for low-wage workers, and the mechanisms by which these practices exert their influence.
June 17, 2022
Research
Employer practices
December 10, 2022
The National Study of Workplace Equity
The National Study of Workplace Equity surveyed just over 1,000 workplaces to find that equity is inconsistently implemented across employment systems. Researchers from the Boston College School of Social Work and Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) find that equity is strongest in recruitment and hiring, compensation and benefits, and orientation and onboarding.
December 10, 2022
Employer practices
December 10, 2022
Executive Summary: The National Study of Workplace Equity
In a new study, researchers from Work Equity, an initiative at the Boston College School of Social Work, and SHRM find that much progress needs to be made on equity across the employment lifecycle. Based on a survey of just over 1,000 workplaces, researchers find that equity is implemented inconsistently across 10 discrete employment systems.
December 10, 2022
Worker voice, representation, and power
July 28, 2022
Worker Power and Economic Mobility: A Landscape Report
This landscape report summarizes empirical evidence on two main pathways for workers to exercise their power in the labor market: the ability to exit their current job for better outside options and organizations and institutions that build worker voice within firms.
July 28, 2022
Job search and matching
July 20, 2022
Search and Matching in Modern Labor Markets: A Landscape Report
This landscape report synthesizes research on how job seekers find work and how employers post and fill open positions in the labor market. It also explores frictions experienced by both parties and implications for workers’ economic mobility.
July 20, 2022
Employer practices
June 17, 2022
Employer Practices and Worker Outcomes: A Landscape Report
Commissioned by WorkRise, this report by researchers at the MIT Sloan School of Management summarizes evidence on employer practices that influence economic mobility and promising areas for research to advance the state of policy and practice.
June 17, 2022