Better Life Lab | The Art and Science of Living a Full and Healthy Life

This season of Better Life Lab, we've been taking a close look at work stress and the future of work and wellbeing.  Parts of the American economy are looking tough for many workers — even “dystopian. People are quitting their jobs at record rates. We know what many of the problems are. Yet the fixes are not so simple. So on this closing episode of our fourth season, we ask: Are bad jobs an inherent part of the workplace — or can we actually do what it takes to make the jobs of the future good jobs, big enough to support real human life for all of us? Guests Rep. Jim Himes, D-Ct, chair of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth Zeynep Ton, founder, Good Jobs Institute Warren Valdmanis, private equity investor and partner with Two Sigma Impact, who will only invest in companies that provide good jobs Resources What if Progress meant Wellbeing for All?, The Metropolitan Group Making wellbeing a policy priority. Lessons from the 2021 World Happiness Report, Carol Graham, Brookings, 2021 The Business Roundtable Redefines the Purpose of a Corporation to Promote an Economy that Serves All, 2019 Hearing Recap: Our Changing Economy: The Effects of Technological Innovation, Automation and the Future of Work, House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, Nov. 2021 Economists pin more blame on tech for inequality, New York Times, January 2022

Being unemployed in the United States is bad for you.  It's bad for your mental, physical and emotional health. Bad for your family stability. Bad for your ability to survive.  It's just bad news, period. The research shows that 83 percent of laid-off workers develop a serious stress-related condition. And as we look at the future of work, that's a problem for the American economy. Because one of the big questions about the American workplace is:What if, in the a future, we actually have less work … and more unemployment? Guests Kiarica Shields, hospice nurse in Georgia who lost her job early in the pandemic, and eventually lost her home and her car. Her unemployment insurance stopped inexplicably, and after she her appeal, she was told she was ineligible for coverage because she worked a single day on another job.  Mark Attico  - furloughed at the start of the pandemic in his job planning business travel. Was on unemployment for months, and with the pandemic supplement his income was actually enough to pay his bills, and gave him time to reconnect with his teenage son - and hold out for a better job that fit his skills and paid well. Dorian Warren, co-president of Community Change. Sarah Damaske, author of The Tolls of Uncertainty: How Privilege and the Guilt Gap Shape Unemployment in America. Resources Reforming Unemployment Insurance: Stabilizing a system in crisis and laying the foundation for equity, A joint project of Center for American Progress, Center for Popular Democracy, Economic Policy Institute, Groundwork Collaborative, National Employment Law Project, National Women's Law Center, and Washington Center for Equitable Growth, June, 2021 A Playbook for Improving Unemployment Insurance Delivery, New America New Practice Lab, 2021 A Plan to Reform the Unemployment Insurance System in the United States, Arindrajit Dube, The Hamilton Project, April 2021  How Does Employment, or Unemployment, Affect Health, RWJF, 2013  Single transitions and persistence of unemployment are associated with poor health outcomes, Herber et al, 2019 The Toll of job loss, Stephanie Pappas, American Psychological Association, 2020

Michael Tubbs grew up in poverty. And when, at 26, he was elected mayor of his hometown, he decided to do something about it. And what he did in Stockton, California, no American mayor had done before. He started giving poor people cash. No strings attached. Stockton's pilot program in Guaranteed Basic Income started lifting people out of poverty. It gave parents more time with their kids. And it was actually cost-effective. So as we look to the Future of Work and Wellbeing, could Guaranteed Basic Income programs play a central role in lifting all of us up — and boosting the standard of life for all Americans? Guests Michael Tubbs, elected mayor of Stockton, California in 2016 at the age of 26 — the youngest mayor in the country. He is known nationally for establishing the first city-led Guaranteed Basic Income program in America, which has inspired dozens of other cities across the country to try similar programs. Having lost his re-election bid in 2020, Tubbs recently founded the nonprofit End Poverty in California. Natalie Foster, co-founder, co-director Economic Security Project, which worked closely with Tubbs on Stockton's Guaranteed Basic Income program John Summers, participant in pilot guaranteed basic income program Cambridge RISE in Massachusetts. Resources Stockton's Basic Income Experiment Paid Off, Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic The Potential for a Guaranteed Income: A Conversation with Four Mayors, New America California, 2021. The Future of Leisure, Stuart Whatley, Democracy Journal, 2012 The Evolving Concept of Time for Work, Leisure, Pew Research, 2008 Less Work and More Leisure: Utopian Visions and the Future of Work, CBC Radio, 2018

PTSD. Burnout. Depression. That's what you get from a too stressful workplace. And — employers take note — you also get reduced commitment to work, and much higher costs. As workplaces have navigated the COVID pandemic, new technologies have amped those stresses to 11. Bossware. Tattleware. After-hours nastiness on Slack. Now there's a whole different kind of “technostress” wearing on warehouse and retail workers, whose every movement is tracked and rated by algorithms. Researchers are only beginning to study the impact “technostress” has on workers, from toxic interpersonal relationships to “email apnea” Tech is here to stay — but how can we foster healthier, less “technostress”-inducing work cultures?  Guests Roxanne Felig, doctoral student at the University of South Florida, who was cyber bullied online after publishing her first major research paper — and publicizing it on TikTok. Adrian Ugalde, retail worker at a big box store in LA Maddie Swenson, who quit her remote job as a creative director because of the stress of being monitored with Bossware. Ashley Nixon, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at Willamette University. Resources Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance, Data and Society, 2019 Technostress Dark Side of Technology in the Workplace: A Scientometric Analysis, Bondanini et al, 2020. Technostress: Implications for Adults in the Workplace, Atanasoff & Venable, 2017 Workplace bullying jeopardizes employees' life satisfaction: the roles of job anxiety and insomnia, Nauman, Malik & Jalil, 2019 The Workplace-Surveillance Technology Boom, Natalie Chyi, New America Weekly, 2020 Are you Breathing? Do you have email apnea? Linda Stone, 2014

The Civil Rights movement opened up new work opportunities for Black workers. But, decades later, African-Americans work disproportionately in low-wage jobs and are overrepresented in the jobs at highest risk of vanishing because of workplace automation. White workers, meanwhile, are 50 percent more likely to hold “future proof” jobs. These are the kind of jobs that build often on education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. And for those Black workers who do find a path to “future proof” jobs in health care or tech, the reward often includes a hostile work environment. And that's bad news for every American. One study found that eliminating racial inequality could boost the U.S. economy by as much as $2.3 trillion a year. What are we waiting for? Guests LeRon Barton, tech worker, author of two books, and essayist who has written “What It's Like to be a Black man in Tech” and other pieces for the Harvard Business Review. Nahsis Davis, a nurse and union member in Chicago. Adia Harvey Wingfield, author of Flatlining: Race, Work and Healthcare in the New Economy, and professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. Resources What it's Like to be a Black Man in Tech, LeRon Barton, Harvard Business Review, 2021 Flatlining: Race, Work and Healthcare in the New Economy, Adia Harvey Wingfield. No More Invisible Man, Adia Harvey Wingfield. Race and the Work of the Future: Advancing Workforce Equity in the United States, PolicyLink, USC Dornsife, burning glass, National Fund for Workforce Solutions Why are Employment Rates so Low among Black men? Holzer, 2021 Digitalization, Automation & Older Black Women: Ensuring Equity in the Future of Work - Chandra Childers, IWPR, 2019

With the advent of the New Deal, employers were expected to guarantee workers a measure of security — a fair wage, a reasonable number of hours, benefits like retirement and health insurance. Recent years have seen a rise in “non-standard” work arrangements — independent contractors and gig workers who work without benefits or job protections. Gig-work platforms offer workers the tantalizing promise of flexibility and freedom. Gig-work platforms make the tantalizing promise of flexibility and freedom. But that can come at a deceptively steep price for many gig workers: low and variable wages, unpredictable schedules, and paltry benefits. Trying to make a living this way is also enormously stressful —one study of gig workers found that the more employment insecurity they experienced during the day, the more their nights became fitful, sleepless and anxiety-ridden. Guests Cherri Murphy, a pastor and former ride-share driver, now trying to organize workers with Gig Workers Rising. Quan D. Mai, an assistant professor of sociology at Rutgers University who has published several articles on the new normal of gig work. Resources After the Gig: How the Sharing Economy got Hijacked, Bergguen Institute's Future of Capitalism & the Platform Cooperativism Consortium  A Brief History of the Gig, Veena Dubal, 2020 The battle for the future of “gig” work, Sarah Jaffe, Vox Rideshare Drivers United Why Precarious Work Is Bad for Health: Social Marginality as Key Mechanisms in a Multi-National Context, Macmillan, Shanahan, 2021 Gig Economy in the U.S. – Statistics and Facts

Recently there's been a dramatic shift in the American workforce: The “Great Resignation.” “The Big Quit.”  In one year, more than 47 millions of people left their jobs. The majority were women. “It is horrible for our economy when millions of women exit the labor force,” says economist Michelle Holder, CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. While men have regained nearly all the jobs they lost since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we're still missing 2 million women. So where have all the women gone? We'll hear Holder's insights, as well as the stories of two working women whose thriving careers were turned upside down by the rigidity — and sexism — built into the American workplace. Guests Kari McCracken, a mother from Lexington, Kentucky. She had a job she loved, and managed close to a hundred employees. Then the pandemic hit. Kiarica Shields single mother of four in Georgia, lost her job as a hospice nurse in the early days of the pandemic, then with schools and child care closed, has struggled to find the care she needs in order to find work. Michelle Holder, economist, CEO Center for Equitable Growth who has been named one of 19 Black economists to watch by Fortune. Author of two books, she recently published an important paper on the impact of COVID-19 on job losses among Black women in America. Resources for Show notes  Handling work-family conflicts: future agenda, International Journal of Manpower, 2017 Work-Family conflict and mental health among female employees, Frontiers in Psychology, 2018 Measuring work-life conflict among low-wage workers, Nichols & Swanberg, 2018 The jingle jangle of work-nonwork balance: a comprehensive and meta-analytic review of its meaning and measurement, Casper et al, 2018 Lower-wage workers and flexible work arrangements, Danziger & Waters Boots, 2008 When work and families are allies: a theory of work-family enrichment, Greenhaus & Powell, 2006 Work-family enrichment and satisfaction: the mediating role of self-efficacy and work-life balance, Chan et al, 2015 “The Early Impact of COVID-19 on Job Losses Among Black Women in the U.S.” Holder 2021

In the future, robots may take over tasks such as doling out medications. But no machine can raise a child or truly care for a disabled, ill or aging loved one.  And home care jobs are projected to be among the fastest-growing jobs in America. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects care jobs will grow 33 percent by 2029. By some estimates, 70 percent of people over 65 soon will require long-term care.  But care jobs are also, for the most part, poverty-wage jobs. They are low-paying, stressful, emotionally taxing, unpredictable and precarious. Half of all care workers in America earn so little that they qualify for public benefits. Nine out of 10 home health workers are women, 62 percent are people of color and one-third are immigrants.  In what many scholars say was an overt act of white supremacy and patriarchy, care workers were excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. They were denied the federal right to organize and collectively bargain, demand a minimum wage or overtime pay. What would the future of care work look like if they could? Guests Brittany Williams, home care worker living in Washington state, and a member of a union representing caregivers. Danielle Williams, Brittany's mother, a home care worker in Arkansas. She earns about half of what Brittany does, and few benefits. Ai-Jen Poo, Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and a MacArthur “Genius” award winner named among the “World's 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune. Resources Working while Caring: A National Survey of Caregiver Stress in the U.S. Workforce, Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers Mother and Daughter do the same job. Why does one make $9 more an hour?, Brigid Schulte & Cassandra Robertson Professional Caregiving men find meaning and price in their work, but still face stigma, Brigid Schulte, Emily Hallgren, Roselyn Miller

In Japan, generations of workers have given their all to the code of Karoshi. It's a word that literally means, “Work til you die."  Few Americans know the word “Karoshi.” We don't think it happens here. But the workplace now actually ranks as the fifth leading cause of death in America.  To help us understand work stress better, we're joined by the co-directors of the Healthy Work Campaign. Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall. How do we shift from work being something that can make your life miserable, to something that can enhance the quality of your life? It comes down to how much power, control and autonomy you have at work. Guests: Cate Lindemann, a lawyer in Illinois who suffered a stress-induced heart attack Cherri Murphy, a pastor and former Lyft driver in California Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall, co-directors of the Healthy Work Campaign Resources: The Relationship Between Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States, Joel Goh, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stefanos A. Zenios Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury, Pega et al, May 2021 Bad Jobs, Bad Health? How Work and Working Conditions Contribute to Health Disparities Burgard & Yin 2013 Psychosocial Factors at Work: Recognition and Control, a report of the Joint International Labour Office and World Health Organization Committee on Occupational Health (1985) Employee Control and Occupational Stress, Paul Spector, 2002 “Evidence is growing that enhanced control at work can be an important element in employees' health and well–being.”  Healthy Work Campaign fact sheet Work, Stress and Health and Socio-Economic Status, American Psychological Association Workplace Stress, ILO, 2016

As much as the media has been inundated with future of work stories that read like a Sci-Fi-like robot apocalypse, the future of work, in a very real sense, is already here. And what's really at stake is inequality. The real question for the future of work is not whether automation, robots and AI will replace jobs - they will. And, if history is any guide, as-yet unimaginable jobs will be created. Over 60 percent of the jobs today didn't exist in 1940, according to MIT researchers. The real question is - will the jobs that are created be “big enough” for workers and families to thrive, much less survive. And, given the current trajectory we're on, the answer is no. Since the 1980s, automation, globalization, the financialization of the U.S. economy and policies that rewarded capital instead of labor have led to a sharp polarization of the U.S. workforce. Middle class jobs lost have been replaced by increasingly unstable, precarious jobs - involuntary part-time, low-wages, with scant access to benefits like health care, and unpredictable schedules. But, as economist David Autor and his colleagues at MIT argue, that polarization is a choice. And we could come together as a society and make a different choice for the future. If we don't, he warns, we are building toward a stratified society of “the servers and the served.” Guests Joe Liebman, warehouse picker in St. Louis making $17.50/ hour. Lost his white collar job in the 2008 Great Recession - and his house, his family, his sense of wellbeing. David Autor, economist, MIT, co-chair of the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future. Resources: MIT Future of Work Task Force Future of Work Initiative, Aspen Institute Extending the Race Between Education and Technology, Autor, Goldin, Katz, 2020 The Future of Warehouse Work, UC Berkeley Labor Center Worker Voices: Technology and the Future for Workers, Molly Kinder, Amanda Lenhart, New America, 2019 The Future of work and its impact on Health, Blue Shield of California Foundation and the Institute for the Future, 2020  The Future of Jobs Report 2020, World Economic Forum (Automation projected to eliminate about 85 million jobs in the next five years—potentially displacing up to half of the United States workforce with no clear path for them to connect to the new jobs likely to be created by these technological changes) BLS fastest growing occupations 2020-2030

In this year-end edition of Crisis Conversations, Brigid and members of the Better Life Lab team reflect on the memorable stories, voices, and lessons learned from COVID-19. And we consider a bold new agenda for work-family justice and gender equity in 2021 and beyond. Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Vicki Shabo, Senior Fellow, Paid Leave Policy and Strategy at Better Life Lab Roselyn Miller, Policy Analyst, Better Life Lab Jahdziah St. Julien, Research Associate, Better Life Lab Emily Hallgren, PhD BLLx Intern, Better Life Lab Stavroula Pabst, PhD Intern, Better Life Lab

Is the pandemic is setting women back a generation? Without reliable childcare and schools, an unprecedented number of working mothers have been forced to reduce their hours. Or have had to leave the workforce entirely. As Elizabeth Gedmark, vice president of A Better Balance said recently: “It’s not a question of whether women are set back in the workplace. It’s a question of how far back we will go: 10 years, 15 years, 20 years?” What needs to change NOW to staunch the hemorrhaging and help women and their families achieve economic stability? And how can we design systems to ensure equity in the future? Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Bryce Covert, Journalist and author, most recently of "The economy could lose a generation of working mothers" Jessica Calarco, Associate professor of sociology at Indiana University who studies inequalities in family life and education. Her pandemic-related research includes "My husband thinks I’m crazy" and "Let’s not pretend it’s fun" Kari McCracken, Mother of five who was recently pushed out of the workforce and a career she loved because of a lack of childcare

The United States is an outlier among developed nations when it comes to supporting working families. Unlike other advanced economies, we offer no national public paid family leave, no publicly supported universal childcare, no requirements that employers offer flexible work and schedule control. Researchers and advocates have long lamented we don’t have these policies because the constituents who need them most – parents – are too stressed and busy to organize and demand them. Has COVID-19 changed that?   Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Dasja Reed, Single parent and member of Strolling Thunder  Alissa Quart, Executive Director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and author most recently of Daycare slots for babies are vanishing. Now their parents can’t work Justin Ruben, Parent and co-founder of ParentsTogether Tamara Mose, Sociology professor at Brooklyn College, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the American Sociological Association and author of Raising Brooklyn: Nannies, Childcare and Caribbeans Creating Community  Jennifer Beall Saxton, Parent, Founder and CEO of Tot Squad

What role will care and caregiving could play in the 2020 election. Pundits have long insisted that care issues like childcare, elder care and paid and unpaid caregiving are not “bread and butter” economic issues that move voters or swing elections. Will that change in this unprecedented time of COVID-19? Are voters beginning to see that care work is no longer just “women’s work,” but central to a functioning economy? And what difference could that make on Nov. 3? Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Abby McCloskey, Economist, fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center, and founder of McCloskey Policy LLC. She has advised multiple presidential campaigns, including those of Howard Schultz, Jeb Bush and Rick Perry. She is a member of the AEI-Brookings Bipartisan working group on paid leave. Amanda Brown Lierman, Managing Director, Supermajority, a progressive, membership-based organization that trains women to become effective advocates to build an equitable future for all women, and former political and organizing director for the Democratic National Committee. Roselyn Miller, Better Life Lab policy analyst and author of The Bipartisan Case for Caregiving.  

Kamala Harris just made history as the first woman of color nominated for national office by a major party. So why, after so much time and money have been spent on diversity initiatives, and on women’s leadership conferences and the like, are there still so few women — particularly women of color — in leadership positions in politics, in academia, and in American business? Join us as women leaders and thinkers share what needs to change to create space for more diverse women leaders, and to enable them to thrive. And why — especially now — that matters so much, for all of us. Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests:  Laura Morgan Roberts, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and author of Beating the Odds and Race and Leadership: The Black Experience in the Workplace Ilana Fischer,CEO of Whisps, a growing snack company where 100 percent of the C-suite executives are women Adrienne Penta. Managing Director at Brown Brothers Harriman and executive director of the Center for Women & Wealth Toni Irving, Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and former executive director of Get IN Chicago, where she led a $45 million social impact fund to reduce gun violence

After the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police sparked a racial justice reckoning, many American organizations put up Black Lives Matter signs. Many put out statements committing to tear down structural racism and build diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures at work. The trick is — how exactly do you do that? These business and organizational leaders have some ideas. Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Melonie Parker, Chief diversity officer at Google, whose team produced the 2020 Diversity Annual Report Anselm Beach, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Equity and Inclusion, spearheading Project Inclusion Sarah Todd, Senior reporter, Quartz and Quartz at Work, author of What an anti-racist workplace looks like Tim Cynova and Lauren Ruffin, COO and Chief External Relations Officer for Fractured Atlas, a New York City-based nonprofit that helps artists access funding

In the era of coronavirus, the notion of work-life balance can seem a dream for those who still have work. But the gut-it-out model is bad for workers, virtual and otherwise, and bad for employers. Host Brigid Schulte talks with behavioral science workers at ideas42 — a nonprofit that seeks to use behavioral science insights to improve lives and drive social change. We'll hear about efforts at ideas42 to research and re-design workplace culture in an innovative pilot project ideas42 is collaborating on with Accion, an international nonprofit working with microfinance programs, We'll explore what role the concept of “scarcity” plays in how we go about our pandemic workdays, and in how we design work in the first place. And we'll consider whether something called "the party principal" could make some of us better, happier virtual workers in the time of COVID-19. Guests include: Matthew Darling, Vice President at ideas42 and a teaching fellow at Harvard University Lynne Curran, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, at Accion Antonia Violante, a Senior Associate at ideas42 Uyhun Ung,a Senior Associate at ideas42

One American in five takes care of another family member or loved one. That's more than 53 million family caregivers in America. Members of this vast, largely invisible workforce were already under pressure prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Many were forced to choose between inflexible or unsupportive work environments, and caring for loved ones who need care. These caregivers are not supported by public policy – the emergency paid family leave law Congress passed last spring actually excluded those caring for aging or chronically ill loved ones. And many people, including those in the so-called sandwich generation, never get a break to take care of themselves. As the pandemic rages, and with a coming aging crisis, how do we begin to care for our family caregivers? Host:Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Debbi Simmons Harris, A family caregiver in Minnesota who had to stop working to care for her son, who has required complex medical care for more than two decades. Jennifer Olsen, DrPH,Executive Director of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving. Jessica Mills, A family caregiver in Georgia who put off her college plans to care for her mother with dementia. Karen Lindsey Marshall, J.D. Director, Advocacy & Engagement, National Alliance for Caregiving.

Schools, summer camps and childcare centers are closed — and many may not reopen until next year. How are parents supposed to manage work, childcare and homeschooling? The childcare crisis is about to become even more acute, as many parents who lost their jobs due to the pandemic have already exhausted the temporary 12-week paid leave Congress passed in early spring. What will it take to build a truly high-quality, universal system that benefits everyone?    Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America   Guests: Caitlyn Collins Sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving Renée Boynton-Jarrett Professor of pediatrics at Boston University, social epidemiologist and the founding director of the Vital Village Community Engagement Network who focuses on the role of early-life adversities as life course social determinants of health.  Marla Schuchman Entrepreneur, mother of two, struggling to launch a start-up with no child care. Alycia Hardy Policy Analyst on childcare and early education for the Center for Law and Social Policy who wrote about including parent voices in policy solutions and her struggles with remote work for her two children and caring for her nieces while her sister and husband risk their health as essential workers Adriana Y Garcia Furloughed salon and social justice worker, and mother of four, living in Portland, Oregon. Maria Cancian Dean, McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown who researches the dynamics between public policies and family wellbeing

Pregnant workers already face discrimination on the job, Before the pandemic struck, the United States was the only advanced nation without a national paid maternity or parental leave policy. Now, pregnant workers have to navigate workplaces that pose real infection risks — often without recourse. Delivering a child in the pandemic has become fraught and isolating. And for many new moms whose low-wage jobs are considered "essential," the emergency paid leave law Congress passed doesn’t even apply. So what can we learn from the pandemic about how to better protect pregnant workers? How can we ensure healthy outcomes for new mothers and children, and, in particular, for new African American mothers and children, whose rates of infant and maternal mortality are alarmingly high? Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Gabrielle Caverl-McNeal, Director of Workforce Development at New Moms Dina Bakst, Co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance Khushbu Shah, Interim Editor in Chief, Fuller Project Rebecca Pontikes, Principal of Pontikes Law LLC Dr. Ashley Deutsch, Director of Quality and Patient Safety for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA

Bruce Feiler, an eminent thinker on meaning, spirituality and contemporary life, shares what he’s learned about navigating life’s transitions with purpose and skill. His latest book is LIFE IS IN THE TRANSITIONS: Mastering Change at Any Age. Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guest: Bruce Feiler is the author of six consecutive New York Times bestsellers; the presenter of two prime-time series on PBS; and the inspiration for the drama COUNCIL OF DADS on NBC. Bruce’s two TED Talks have been viewed more than two million times. 

On this edition of Crisis Conversations, we look at the arguments why the next Federal bailout package should focus on Black women and women of color. Before the pandemic, even with historically low unemployment, Black women and women of color were more likely to be clustered in undervalued jobs that don’t pay well. Now, even though they are likely to be key breadwinners for their families, women of color are disproportionately likely to have lost their jobs in the pandemic. And because of gender and racial pay gaps and the deep wealth gap, women of color are less likely to have the resources to weather the current storm. How can we change that? Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests: Jocelyn Frye, Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Dominique Derbigny, Deputy Director of Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap (CWWG) initiative Latrice Wilson, furloughed payroll supervisor and advocate for Unemployed Action Dr. Michelle Holder, Assistant professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York Jaime Gloshay, Project Manager at Roanhorse Consulting (RCLLC), Co-founder of Native Women Lead

Telemedicine – virtual appointments with doctors and health professionals – has become the only way many people can get the care they need during the pandemic. But some see unexpected advantages to the telemedicine surge. Now more people can see a doctor without taking time off work. Or struggling to arrange childcare. Or finding a way to evade a controlling life partner. Is it possible that telemedicine could even help to close health disparities across race, class and age, and improve gender equity? Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America. Guests: Amanda Williams, Ob/gyn and Physician, and Maternity Director for Kaiser Permanente Oakland. Lucy McBride, Primary Care physician who writes a daily newsletter on Covid & physical and mental health. Minakshi Raj, Incoming Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, who researches family caregiving and health information technology.

Before COVID-19 hit, women spent about twice as much time as men doing childcare and housework. That unequal gendered division of labor at home contributed to gender inequality in the workplace. — and to a persistent gender pay gap. But is the pandemic now changing that dynamic? And if so, will those changes last? Hosted by Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America. Guests include: Dan Carlson, Assistant Professor of Family, Health and Policy at the University of Utah, and author of Men and Women agree: During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Men are Doing More at Home. Glen “Beleaf” Henry, an artist and rapper who documents life as a black father on his YouTube Channel, beleafinfatherhood and his TEDx Talk: What I’ve learned being a stay at home Dad. Dan Herman, a full-time dad in New York who prior to COVID-19 was a high-lying tech executive. Haley Swenson, Better Life Lab deputy director and author of the report, “Engaged Dads.”

As states lift shelter-in-place orders meant to slow the spread of coronavirus, some office-based firms are allowing remote work to continue. Some workplaces are staggering schedules, shutting off communal spaces, and limiting the number of people in an office — and in elevators. That's in contrast to the situation faced by many returning restaurant workers, hair stylists and other people who work “non-essential” jobs. These workers may be eager for work, but they also face uncertainty about safety. How is the pandemic reshaping the way we work, and what will it mean for the future? Hosted by Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests include: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of Shorter: Work Better, Smarter and Less – Here’s How, and Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. Richard Gegick, restaurant worker and organizer. Manar Morales, president & CEO • Diversity & Flexibility Alliance

Since May 25, tumultuous protests have engulfed the country — touched off by the murder of George Floyd, another black man who died at the hands of a white police officer. And as protests have transfixed the nation, data continues to show the coronavirus pandemic also is disproportionately affecting communities of color, On this essential episode of Crisis Conversations, host Brigid Schulte asks: What needs to change to end our country's entrenched structural racism,? And how do we create a better, fairer America? To take on these questions, Brigid is joined by: Angela Hanks, Deputy Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative, and author of Structural Racism is Exacerbating the Coronavirus Pandemic for Black People - Especially Black Women Autumn McDonald, Senior fellow and head of New America California. She has been hosting COVID and the Black Community online conversations Dr. Nicole Mason, President and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research Kemi Role, Director of Work Equity at the National Employment Law Project

The United States stands virtually alone in the world in failing to guarantee paid maternity leave. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, Congress made history by quickly passing temporary emergency paid family leave – but severely limited who could get it. We’ll hear stories from the field about how the new law continues to create a gulf between the Haves and the Have Nots.  Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests include: Ondrea Patrick, Aldi’s worker, mother and United4Respect Leader who needs but isn’t eligible for paid family leave Rebecca Gale, Journalist and author of Emergency Paid Leave Helps Some Families, Leaves Others Adrift in the New York Times Marissa Korbel, Lawyer and author of How leave provided by the coronavirus relief bill is saving my sanity while we shelter in place in the Washington Post Tanya Goldman, Senior policy analyst & attorney at the Center for Law & Social Progress tracking emergency paid leave implementation

The coronavirus pandemic has shown just how essential are the home health workers who care for our aging loved ones. Yet many of these care workers struggle with no benefits on the brink of poverty. Except in Washington state. We'll hear stories of how an innovative arrangement there could be a model for the rest of the country - now and after the pandemic. Host: Brigid Schulte, Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guests include: Brittany Williams, a home health worker in Seattle and member SEIU 775; Peter Nazzal, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington director of Long Term Care: and Stephen Campbell, Data and Policy analyst with PHI and author of We Can Do Better: How our Broken Long-term Care System Undermines Care

The United States is one of just 11 countries around the world that don’t guarantee workers paid time off to stay home if they’re sick – one of the surest ways to slow the spread of infection. Jody Heymann, director of the World Policy Analysis Center at UCLA shares insights from a new report on paid sick leave policies around the world. We’ll hear stories of the harrowing choices faced by essential workers in Texas — where paid sick leave is especially hard to come by. We'll hear from Joleen Garcia, an organizer with the Texas Organizing Project, and from Marilyn Washington, a home health worker in San Antonio. And... we invite you to join us on Friday, May 22 at 1 pm Eastern time, for the live recording of our next Crisis Conversations episode. It'll be a 30-minute interactive conversation on elder care – a population hard hit by the virus. The pandemic has shown just how essential the home health workers are who care for our aging loved ones. Yet many of these care workers struggle with no benefits on the brink of poverty. Except in Washington state. We'll hear stories of how an innovative arrangement there could be a model for the rest of the country - now and after the pandemic.

It's tough to be a single parent in the best of times. Now the coronavirus pandemic has made it even harder. One in five children in the United States live with a single mother, and 4 percent live with a single father. And while the number of children living with an unmarried parent has more than doubled since 1968, most work and care systems are still set up to support two-parent families. How are single-parent families managing the coronavirus pandemic? And what will they need to thrive once we’re out of the crisis? Host Brigid Schulte — author of the New York Times Bestseller "Overwhelmed" and director of New America's Better Life Lab — is joined by guests including: Nahsis Davis, nurse practitioner and single foster mother of three. Alison Griffin, senior vice president for Whiteboard Advisors and a single mother of two. Nicole Sussner Rodgers, founder and executive director, Family Story. And ... we invite you to join us on Friday, May 15 at 1 pm Eastern time, for the live recording os a 30-minute interactive conversation on how the emergency paid sick leave law is working – or not. The United States is one of just 11 countries around the world that don’t guarantee workers paid time off to stay home if they’re sick – one of the surest ways to slow the spread of infection. Jody Heymann, director of the World Policy Analysis Center at UCLA shares a new report on paid sick leave policies around the world that shows how all workers can be covered. We’ll have stories from the field on why they should be. Here's the link to join: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/9715892325953/WN_IcNuQ93QQoKIv9GKV7hP5g Host: Brigid Schulte Director, Better Life Lab at New America Guest: Jody Heymann Founding Director, World Policy Analysis Center

The coronavirus crisis is upending the way we work, live, connect with one another. THis week, we look at how the coronavirus pandemic is straining an already fragile child care system. The crisis is showing clearly how central child care is to our economy and society. How are parents coping? How are early care educators, providers and care workers surviving? How do we build a better child care system for the future? We’ll hear from care workers, providers, parents and Lillian Mongeau, west coast bureau chief of the Hechinger Report and author of of  "Our Fragile Childcare “System” may be about to shatter.” If you'd like to join next week's taping, please join us here: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/4915883531487/WN_bhpzkollT76Mwzj2W6SfDQ On Friday, May 8 at 1 PM ET, we'll have a 30-minute interactive conversation on how single parents are managing in the coronavirus pandemic. One in five children in the United States live with a single mother, and 4 percent live with a single father. And while the number of children living with an unmarried parent has increased from 13 percent in 1968 to 32 percent, most work and care systems are still set up to support two-parent families. How are single-parent families managing the pandemic? And what will they need to thrive once we’re out of the crisis?

As crisis has become the "new normal," there are new rules for so many things we took for granted just a few weeks ago. Some of the biggest changes have to do with work: How can people work remotely, flexibly — and effectively — in a crisis like this? Host Brigid Schulte is joined this week by guests including Cali Yost, workplace strategist with the Flex Strategy Group. She’s worked with companies for more than 25 years to create flexible work environments. And ... if you'd like to be a part of the next recording of Crisis Conversations, we'd love to have you! Join us Friday, May 1 at 1 pm Eastern time, for a 30-minute interactive conversation about how the coronavirus pandemic is straining an already fragile child care system. Brigid Schulte will be joined by Lillian Mongeau, West Coast Bureau Chief of the Hechinger Report, and author of "Our fragile child care ‘system’ may be about to shatter.” Here's the link to sign up: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/7415876576996/WN_DRizd9RbRoi_huCiw2uDkg

Many front-line healthcare workers are routinely exposed to the deadly coronavirus, and many of them have made the difficult choice to live away from their families in an effort to keep them safe. Congress voted to exclude healthcare workers from emergency paid sick and family leave, so these workers are themselves forced to choose between coming to work sick, or using personal time or unpaid time, to stay home. Front-line healthcare workers are also witnessing first hand as the country’s troubling health disparities play out, with devastating consequences for people of color. To dig into this crisis within the crisis, host Brigid Schulte is joined by healthcare workers including Dennis Kosuth, an Emergency Room and school nurse in Chicago and member of National Nurses United. And if you'd like to join the live Zoom recording of next week's program, sign up here: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/4215871426699/WN_xBU94_OxTWKopBt_9cxKgQ On Friday, April 24, Brigid will be joined by Cali Yost, workplace strategist with the Flex Strategy Group, for a 30 minute interactive conversation about how the coronavirus pandemic may reshape work and work cultures. How can people work remotely, flexibly and effectively in a crisis?

The coronavirus pandemic is completely disrupting the way we work, and the way we live, That’s why the Better Life Lab is offering  Crisis Conversations - Live from Better Life Lab. With host Brigid Schulte working from her home office — recording into the cheap mic built into the cord of her earbuds — we're recording live Zoom sessions on Fridays. Our lead guest for this episode is Rachel Deutsch, supervising attorney for worker justice at the Center for Popular Democracy. We'll also hear front-line stories from four workers. They'll share their experiences of pandemic furloughs, and snafus with unemployment insurance — including one laid-off worker who has called hundreds of times, to try to file her claim. We want these sessions to be an intimate, interactive space for people to take a breath, and share stories. We'll reflect and gain some perspective and context, and think about what these changes could mean for the future of work, gender equity, health and social policy. If you'd like to attend our next live-recorded Zoom event — on Friday, April 17, about how coronavirus is upending the lives of frontline nurses and doctors. We'll hear directly from healthcare workers living in virtual quarantine to try to protect their own families. And if you'd like to join this week's live webinar taping of Crisis Conversations, follow this link: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/3915864469789/WN_8WzNCXP3Ro-BoPqauYF75Q This live event — on Friday, April 17, 1 pm Eastern — focuses on how the coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of the frontline healthcare workers exposed to the deadly virus, many of whom are living away from their families in order to keep them safe. More at: https://www.newamerica.org/events/

The coronavirus pandemic is completely disrupting the way we work, and the way we live, care and relate to one another. So much is changing, and so fast, it’s hard to keep up with it all, That’s why the Better Life Lab is offering  Crisis Conversations - Live from Better Life Lab. With host Brigid Schulte working from home — recording into the cheap mic built into the cord of her earbuds — we're recording live Zoom sessions on Fridays. We want these sessions to be an intimate, interactive space for people to take a breath, and share stories. We'll reflect and gain some perspective and context, and think about what these changes could mean for the future of work, gender equity, health and social policy. Our lead guest for this episode is Eve Rodsky, author of the New York Times bestselling Fair Play. Eve works with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, discussing how coronavirus may be upending the unfair division of labor at home. Could the social distancing required to slow the pandemic expose the double burden women have been shouldering for decades, and trigger a reset in gender norms around work and care? We'll also hear a personal story from Stephen Dypiangco, co-founder of Dadventures. And we'll hear stories and Q&A from attendees on the recorded call. If you'd like to attend our next live-recorded Zoom event — on Friday, April 10, about how the coronavirus pandemic has shut down businesses and left millions of people without work — please follow this link: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/5115861816279/WN_1d_UUTRmTmer_iUhY_DL9g More at: https://www.newamerica.org/events/

The coronavirus pandemic is completely disrupting the way we work, and the way we live, care and relate to one another. The novel virus that threatens public health and is sending stress and anxiety levels soaring is also reshaping public policies for families and workers for the first time in decades. So much is changing, and so fast, that it’s hard to keep up with it all, much less figure out what it means, and where it might lead us once we emerge out of the crisis, whenever that will be. That’s why the Better Life Lab is launching Crisis Conversations - Live from Better Life Lab. With host Brigid Schulte working from home — recording into the cheap mic built into the cord of her earbuds — we're recording live Zoom sessions on Fridays to create an intimate and interactive space for people to take a breath, and share stories. We'll reflect and gain some perspective and context, and think about what these changes could mean for the future of work, gender equity, health and social policy. Our lead guest for this episode is- Vicki Shabo, Senior fellow for paid leave policy and strategy with New America and a leading national expert on family-supportive policy. She'll be talking about how COVID-19 may be reshaping family-supportive public policy forever. And we'll hear stories and Q&A from attendees on the recorded call — please sign up here if you'd like to be invited to a future live-recorded Zoom call — usually on Fridays. To join the April 3 live session, follow this link: https://newamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/2515855769504/WN_yLtx0YfHSFuuUguqaWqpdQ Hosted by Brigid Schulte, produced by David Schulman, with help from the New America Communications and Better Life Lab teams.

In Japan, workers are so used to working punishingly long hours that dying from overwork is a common phenomenon: so common, in fact, that victim families can and do routinely apply for worker compensation benefits. We hear the stories of Japanese workers caught up in a system of overwork, young activists trying to change things on the ground, and a professor trying to make sense of it all. Is it just a Japanese phenomenon? What can Americans learn from a culture of overwork? This episode is brought to you by Constant Contact. For a free trial, sign up today at constantcontact.com/lifelab. 

Research shows that egalitarian couples who fairly share work and home responsibilities are happier, healthier and have better sex. But are egalitarian partnerships really possible, especially when U.S. work cultures demand all-out devotion and women still carry the load as primary caregivers and household managers? We hear stories from  workers striving for that egalitarian ideal: An Ethiopian immigrant nurse and Uber driver,  A military “trailing spouse” with big dreams. And Amy Nelson, founder and CEO of The Riveter. To make sense of why egalitarian relationships can be hard no matter your circumstances, we hear from Jennifer Petriglieri, professor of organizational behavior and author of the forthcoming book, Couples that Work.

While an unpredictable schedule has always been a part of a restaurant worker’s experience, the advent of scheduling technology and the pressure to keep labor costs low has turned the schedules - and lives - of restaurant and retail workers upside down. We hear stories of waitstaff and big box retail workers from around the country. Joan Williams, Director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings, shares research on how predictable schedules not only make life better and healthier for workers, but actually makes businesses more profitable.

In a famous 2007 talk at Google, productivity guru Merlin Mann introduced the world to Inbox Zero, his idea of managing the raging river of digital overload. But is such a high standard even possible today? In this episode, we explore Email Mindset, and how to think about your inbox. And we compare Mann’s Inbox Zero approach with writer Amy Westervelt’s Inbox 100,000. 

You’ve heard of work-life conflict, but when one Stanford researcher looked into how doctors managed it, she discovered another complicating factor: work-work conflict. It's having so many different tasks and responsibilities at work that you can quite literally feel pulled in a hundred different directions at once. We hear the stories of a doctor, a nonprofit executive and a home health aide, and how real solutions will require systems change.

When Jason Fried founded Basecamp, he and his partner decided not to focus on growth, but on sustainability, and healthy work-life balance. While Fried’s stance is unorthodox in an economy where success is literally measured by growth, economist  and bestselling author Juliet Schor says Fried is onto something.

Better Life Lab is back! In Season 2, join host Brigid Schulte as she explores the torture of "Inbox Zero", work schedule chaos, and the Japanese idea of "karoshi" — a sadly common phenomenon where people work so hard they die — and much more. The Better Life Lab podcast from Slate and New America will show you why work-life balance seems so unattainable for so many people—and what we as individuals, as organizations, and as policy makers can do about it. New episodes drop March 15, 2019. 

It gets more intense every year — the drive to work longer and longer hours. And there’s striking new research that shows that women, who already get paid less than men, are put at a distinct disadvantage by an American job market that rewards overwork rather than performance. In the final episode of season one of Better Life Lab, we hear from Youngjoo Cha, a sociologist at Indiana University and an expert on overwork and gender. Her research shows that, while the education gap is closing between men and women, overwork has all but cancelled out efforts to equalize the job market. In fact, the gender pay gap would have actually shrunk by 10 percent in recent decades if it wasn’t for this phenomenon. Ciannat Howett, an associate professor at Emory University, shares her own story of job growth and overwork. Podcast production by David Schulman. Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America.

What happens when you can’t stop working? In this episode, the Better Life Lab podcast goes to a workaholics anonymous meeting to find out.  We also here from Malissa Clark, a professor of psychology at the University of Indiana and an expert in workaholism. She discusses the science and research behind workaholism, and how we can change. 

No meeting Wednesdays and work from home Fridays are not enough. In this episode, you'll find out how employers can really create a healthier and more productive workplace. Tara Oakman, a former Obama White House official who is currently working as a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and David Waldman, vice president human resources and administration at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, weigh in. 

Email inboxes and push notifications were designed to keep us busy. But when we break it all down and how we think about busyness, we should be paying attention to the way our environment is designed — both at work and at home. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely explains how we can change our surroundings and our actions to fight our addiction to being busy. Ariely is an author of The New York Times best-selling book “Predictably Irrational,” a popular TED speaker, and professor and director of the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University. We also hear from David Sbarra, a professor in the psychology department at the University of Arizona, where he directs the Laboratory for Social Connectedness and Health. And he confesses — he is obsessed with busyness.

Michelle Hickox took summers off and still got promoted. First, she had to believe that she could, then she had to prove to others it was possible. Now she wants everyone to know how she did it. She tells her story to Better Life Lab. 

Bragging about being overworked is not badge of honor. Economists say the way we work has become so stressful it’s now the fifth leading cause of death. That’s according to Jeff Pfeffer, a Stanford business professor and author of some of the first meta-analyses of the health costs of the modern workplace. What will it take for us to transform the way we work and live — as individuals, as organizations, and as a culture — in order to make time for both meaningful work and fuller, healthier lives? That conversation starts here in the inaugural episode of Better Life Lab, hosted by Brigid Schulte.

On Better Life Lab, we explore the art and science of living a full and healthy life. The podcast combines the power of storytelling - people sharing their own very real struggles, failings and triumphs with work-life balance – or work-life harmony as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos now calls it  - with the behavioral and social science research and data that can help us better understand what drives our human experiences, and how to change.  There are real costs with our current driven, harried, work-identified culture. We explore what it will take to transform the way we work and live, as individuals, as organizations, and as a culture, to make time for both meaningful work and fuller, healthier lives. A co-production from New America and Slate.