Transitional Learning in a Transitional Labor Market

Precarious work traps workers in a cycle of marginalization. Though there is research on how individuals can break this cycle, little is known about how learning can change the conditions of marginalization. This study explores the learning processes that can also improve the conditions of precarious work

Broken Systems Under Repair: Weaving Ethics of Care and Human Flourishing Into the Work and Lives of Essential Workers

This empirical paper will report on an innovative participatory action research project, based on Freire cultural circles to raise awareness and provoke moral deliberation about the precarity of essential work and its detrimental impacts on the lives of essential workers

Workforce planning and development in times of delivery system transformation

Background As implementation of the US Affordable Care Act (ACA) advances, many domestic health systems are considering major changes in how the healthcare workforce is organized. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic processes and interactions by which workforce planning and development (WFPD) is evolving in this new environment. Methods Informed by the theory of loosely coupled systems (LCS), we use a case study design to examine how workforce changes are being managed in Kaiser Permanente and Montefiore Health System. We conducted site visits with in-depth interviews with 8 to 10 stakeholders in each organization. Results Both systems demonstrate a concern for the impact of change on their workforce and have made commitments to avoid outsourcing and layoffs. Central workforce planning mechanisms have been replaced with strategies to integrate various stakeholders and units in alignment with strategic growth plans. Features of this new approach include early and continuous engagement of labor in innovation; the development of intermediary sense-making structures to garner resources, facilitate plans, and build consensus; and a whole system perspective, rather than a focus on single professions. We also identify seven principles underlying the WFPD processes in these two cases that can aid in development of a new and more adaptive workforce strategy in healthcare. Conclusions Since passage of the ACA, healthcare systems are becoming larger and more complex. Insights from these case studies suggest that while organizational history and structure determined different areas of emphasis, our results indicate that large-scale system transformations in healthcare can be managed in ways that enhance the skills and capacities of the workforce. Our findings merit attention, not just by healthcare administrators and union leaders, but by policymakers and scholars interested in making WFPD policies at a state and national level more responsive

Workforce Planning & Development in Times of Delivery System Transformation: The Stories of Kaiser Permanente and Montefiore Health System

As the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) advances, many health systems are taking bold measures to reorganize how they deliver care, and finding that in order to do so; they need to make major changes in how their healthcare workforces are organized.Understanding what workforce changes are occurring and how they are being managed is important not just for healthcare leaders, but for policymakers as well. Traditional methods of projecting provider shortages and justifying the allocation of public funding to expand various professional pipelines are giving way to the notion that there are many models of care delivery and that they have vastly different staffing configurations. Choices about staffing can have enormous implications for productivity, making assumptions about the demand for certain health professions a moving target.The authors focused on two very different health systems, Kaiser Permanente and Montefiore Health System, to better understand how diverse organizations are adapting to and planning for workforce changes in the post-ACA environment. They set out to examine not only how changes in healthcare delivery will alter the national demand for health workers, but also how individual organizations make choices about ways to reconfigure their workforce, and, ultimately, what kinds of local, state and federal policies will be most supportive of workforce transformations that advance both workers’ wellbeing and the value of their services

Collaboration and Cognitive Skills in the Workplace: Results from the PIAAC Survey

Using the PIAAC survey, this study examined social characteristics of work and cognitive skills. Results negatively associated collaboration at work and PIAAC scores, contradicting current thinking on workplace interactions

Learning at work in female-dominated and male-dominated industries: A PIAAC study

Learning at work has the potential to be an important contributor to employee performance and professional advancement. Yet, gender inequality is prevalent in many workplaces and may influence the types and quality of learning to which employees are exposed. This study’s purpose was to examine the relationship between female- and male-dominated industries and learning at work as measured by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). For those industry sectors determined to be female- or male-dominated, we used a linear regression model to determine whether a relationship exists between gender dominance and learning at work based on the independent variables gender, education level, and race. Results indicate workers in female-dominated industries engage in more learning at work than those in male-dominated industries. We conclude gender-dominance may influence workplace culture and social interactions, thereby affect learning at work

The Changing Nature and Organization of Work: An Integrative Review of the Literature

Economics, demographics, technology, and other factors are changing the composition and availability of jobs. Newer forms of freelance, contingent work, also known as gigs, are gradually eroding traditional jobs. A venue that affords employment opportunities for a growing number of gig workers has become known as the platform economy. Those engaged in the platform economy already represent 10.1% of the U.S. workforce. This article explores the factors that give rise to these new work structures and examines the new opportunities they offer for employment and income. The social and economic consequences of the growth of these new work structures, intended and unintended, for workers, consumers, employers, and the public are discussed. The article concludes with a synthesis model of human resource development (HRD) research and the implications of the growth of these new types of work for HRD theory and practice