Independent Workers

This report from the Future of Work Initiative, Urban Institute, and A Better Balance provides a policy framework to strengthen protections for workers in nonstandard jobs.

California’s AB5 redefines employment, expands benefits and protections to more workers, and paves the way for additional policy innovations.

To prepare for the future of work, we must understand its history first.

Moving labor costs off a business’s budget doesn’t make them disappear — it shifts them to the backs of workers, their families, & taxpayers.

We don’t have to abandon old ideals in the new economy. We can choose to make new jobs better.

Work is changing in many ways. What does this mean for leaders in philanthropy seeking to expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income workers?

What will work look like in 20 years and beyond? “Sharing economy” companies such as Uber and TaskRabbit have brought new attention to the way we work, but many of the employment transformations we’ve seen have evolved over decades.

This brief reviews the major forces shaping the future of work, including changes in labor and employment practices, business models, access to income and benefits, worker rights and voice, education and training, and technology.

Maureen Conway explains the challenges workers face in the on-demand workforce.

The on-demand or “sharing” economy is exploding. Microenterprises are proliferating. Estimates of the percentage of the workforce that is “contingent” (or freelance, contract or self-employed) range widely from four to 40 percent.