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Workplace Culture

Stories about life at work: what you love about it, what you’d change about it and how it affects your life.
Workplace Culture

Welcome to the new Workplace Culture Desk!

Meghan McCarty Carino Jun 3, 2019

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Workplace Culture

Union petitions were up 56% in last 9 months, federal labor agency says

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Jul 15, 2022
Young, college-educated workers at individual retail establishments like Starbucks stores are driving many organizing efforts.
More than 16% of the union election petitions submitted to the government came from Starbucks.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Sweatpants have gone professional, and there's no going back

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Dec 20, 2021
The comfy remote uniforms are emblematic of the blurring between home and work.
In his experiments, social psychologist Adam Galinsky found that while “traditional work clothing” made some remote workers feel more powerful, “home clothing” made them feel authentic and more engaged in their work.
FreshSplash via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

What makes federal infrastructure jobs "good-paying"?

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Dec 6, 2021
The idea that federally funded construction projects must pay a minimum "prevailing wage" goes back to a 1931 law.
The Department of Labor is preparing updates to the regulations of federally funded construction jobs. Above, a crew resurfaces a road in Alhambra, California.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Omicron worries could keep some workers out of labor force

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Dec 2, 2021
There are signs that health concerns, particularly for older Americans, are decreasing interest in being employed or “unretiring.”
Workers over 65 were the fastest-growing segment of the labor force pre-COVID but have retired at an accelerated pace over the last two years.
alvarez via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Most home care workers are entitled to overtime but might not know it

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Nov 24, 2021
A new initiative from the Labor Department aims to up outreach and enforcement related to such issues.
Long-term caregivers and supporters rally in Los Angeles in July for greater investment in the country's caregiving infrastructure.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

The future of work anywhere: gardens, stores and hotels

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Nov 15, 2021
The more working at an office becomes a choice, the more workplaces could become a niche consumer product.
A garden "pod" office at Second Home Hollywood co-working space.
Meghan McCarty Carino/Marketplace
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COVID-19

Why some companies are cutting back the 40-hour workweek

by Amy Scott and Minju Park
Oct 5, 2021
As workers struggle with burnout during the pandemic, some employers are testing a four-day week to combat overwork and lift morale.
Abigail Marks, professor of the future of work at Newcastle University, worries that some employers will "try and force five days’ work into four days."
Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

Long-term unemployment a challenge for women over 40

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Sep 30, 2021
An AARP report shows nearly 70% of those unemployed in June had been out of work for six months or more.
Among women age 40 to 65 who were surveyed for an AARP report, more than 40% had experienced a job interruption during the pandemic.
Drazen_ via Getty Images
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Workplace Culture

This video game company wants to make the industry safer for marginalized people

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Sep 27, 2021
Kim Belair co-founded Sweet Baby Inc. to create a safe place in the game industry. Can the values behind the company scale up?
An image from Sable, a recently released game developed by Shedworks and written by Sweet Baby Inc. co-founders David Bedard and Kim Belair.
Courtesy Shedworks
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Workplace Culture

Can companies really be empathetic toward their workers?

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban
Aug 20, 2021
As Anne Helen Petersen writes, messaging about empathy is different from taking action, and not every employee is buying it.
In an article for Time, Anne Helen Petersen argues that many corporations miss the mark when they try to show empathy to employees during the pandemic.
South_agency via Getty Images
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