Job Quality in Practice

Job Quality in Practice, an event series hosted by the Economic Opportunities Program, presents actionable tools and guidance to help leaders improve jobs and connect to a growing national conversation.

About This Series

In 2019, the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program, with support from Prudential Financial, launched an effort to encourage the development of job quality practices that promote access to economic opportunity. In this webinar series, we provide actionable tools and guidance to support leaders across geographies and fields – including workforce development, economic development, capital deployment, policy, worker advocacy, business, and higher education – to engage in practical action to improve jobs in their local communities and connect to a growing national conversation.

Job quality today is a challenge.  Many people who work every day to connect people to economic opportunities that will provide a dignified living can see this.  Whether it’s a family sustaining wage, decent benefits, safe working conditions, or simply a schedule that is manageable with their other obligations—finding jobs that meet people’s basic economic needs can be a challenge. But what if we rethought this approach?  What if, instead of trying to find the “good jobs” within the sea of inadequate ones, we instead tried to transform jobs so that more of them provide workers with what they need to thrive?  We know this approach sounds daunting—but many organizations have started down this road, and are making progress.  And that is what this series is all about.  What are the practical strategies organizations can use to address the biggest economic opportunity challenge we face—fixing work.

Recent and Upcoming Events

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
Economic Opportunity
Investing in Job Quality in the South
Economic Opportunity

Investing in Job Quality in the South

View Event

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South
Economic Opportunity
Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy
Economic Opportunity
Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South
Economic Opportunity
Fixing Work: 
Recent Lessons from the Field
Economic Opportunity

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field

View Event

Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons from CDFIs
Economic Opportunity

Event Recordings

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
Podcasts Videos

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

Investing in Job Quality in the South
Podcasts Videos

Investing in Job Quality in the South

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South
Podcasts Videos

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026, we hear how the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy
Podcasts Videos

Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Thursday, March 5 — is the second in its four-part event series on Fixing Work in the South. Drawing on the work of EOP’s Job Quality Fellows, this conversation — Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy — explores what kind of progress is possible when we lean on the expertise of workers and communities to inform strategy and empower them to shape a labor market that works for everyone.

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South
Podcasts Videos

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on February 19, 2026 — is the first of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules
Podcasts Videos

Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules

What many believe is a thing of the past is in fact an ever-growing crisis, with life and death consequences for children across the US.

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality
Podcasts Videos

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality

This event is part of our Job Quality in Practice webinar series. For highlights from this discussion, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Or subscribe to our podcast to listen on the go.

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field
Videos

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field

This webinar, which EOP hosted on July 22, 2025, offers fresh insights, practical lessons, and inspiration to advance job quality in your own work. It features opening remarks from the Aspen Institute’s Matt Helmer, followed by a panel discussion.

Event Archive

Past Events in the Opportunity in America Series

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households
Event

When Work Isn’t Enough: Improving Job Quality for ALICE Households

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and UNITED for ALICE on May 19, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:30 Eastern for this next discussion in our Job Quality in Practice series as  examine the current data on ALICE households and what we’re learning about ALICE at WORK, an innovative approach to working with businesses to improve job quality.

Investing in Job Quality in the South
Event

Investing in Job Quality in the South

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Investing in Job Quality in the South” This is the final of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South
Event

Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on April 1, 2026 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Reimagining Workforce and Economic Development in the South” Join us for the third of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy
Event

Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy

This event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Thursday, March 5 — is the second in its four-part event series on Fixing Work in the South. Drawing on the work of EOP’s Job Quality Fellows, this conversation — Worker- and Community-Led Strategies for a Fairer Economy — explores what kind of progress is possible when we lean on the expertise of workers and communities to inform strategy and empower them to shape a labor market that works for everyone.

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South
Event

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on October 9th, 2025 from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern for “Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South.” Join us for the first of four conversations with members of the Aspen Institute’s Job Quality Fellowship who are working in the South.

Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules
Event

Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on January 21, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, for “Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules.” This conversation will explore a range of strategies for ensuring that those who need a flexible and adaptable work arrangement don’t have to endure low quality jobs and low wages.

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality
Event

Big Impact, Big Challenges: Lessons from Collaborating with Large Businesses to Improve Job Quality

Join experts from Worklife Partnership, WORC, and others as we examine the challenges and strategies for engaging and supporting large businesses in actively influencing positive economic outcomes for their low- and moderate income employees. 

Fixing Work: 
Recent Lessons from the Field
Event

Fixing Work: Recent Lessons from the Field

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program will soon release a report, Fixing Work: Lessons from Job Quality Practitioners, based on in-depth interviews with more than 20 leaders across the country about the work they are doing to create good jobs that provide economic security, the opportunity to advance and grow, and a safe, dignified, and equitable workplace. 

Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons from CDFIs
Event

Advising Small Businesses on Job Quality: Lessons from CDFIs

Hear from CDFIs about their approaches to building job quality advising into their work, and share your questions and comments. We are eager to hear what you think!

Community Benefits Agreements: A Tool for Creating Good Jobs
Event

Community Benefits Agreements: A Tool for Creating Good Jobs

Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), binding agreements created between community groups and organizations like real estate developers or large employers, are a powerful alternative that ensure people have a real say in shaping the outcomes these new investments will create for their communities.

About the Economic Opportunities Program

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.

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More from the Economic Opportunities Program

The Workforce of the Future Starts with Adult Basic Education
Blog Posts

The Workforce of the Future Starts with Adult Basic Education

To create a future-ready workforce system, we must move beyond outdated credentials and analog processes to one that is skills-first, transparent, data-driven, and aligned with the evolving needs of workers, educators, and employers.

Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers
Publications

Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers

This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.

How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning
Podcasts Videos

How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning

In this interview, Chelsea Miller of Upskill America speaks with Nick Greif of InStride about how employers can design education benefits that are more accessible, strategic, and aligned with workforce goals.

The US economy depends on immigrant workers. Their job quality matters for everyone.
Blog Posts

The US economy depends on immigrant workers. Their job quality matters for everyone.

The future of America’s economic strength depends on immigration. As the US birth rate declines and the median age goes up, fewer US-born workers will enter the labor force.

Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders
Podcasts Videos

Metrics that Matter: Improving Financial Analysis of CDFI Small Business Lenders

This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.

Nonprofits Need Better Jobs
Blog Posts

Nonprofits Need Better Jobs

This brief shares key lessons and takeaways that could be used to implement internal job quality practices to strengthen CDFIs and other small business support organizations. 

Adult Working Learners Vote With Their Feet: What Employers Are Learning About Foundational Skills
Blog Posts

Adult Working Learners Vote With Their Feet: What Employers Are Learning About Foundational Skills

Putting people at the center of the systems we are building means accepting that career paths are rarely linear. It requires us to build infrastructure that accommodates life transitions, recognizes informal learning, and values a worker’s agency over their own data.