Topic: Labor

A cube of hundred dollar bills wrapped in a blue bow Research Brief / Productivity

Trying Out Bonus-Pay Theory on Unsupervised, Low-Skill Tasks

Incentives boost output, but benefits level off at a fairly low point

Forklift in a warehouse Research Brief / Manufacturing

When Manufacturers Commence Exporting, They Become More Efficient

Looking at costs, in a sample of 5,000 plants in Chile, remarkable productivity gains occur

Workers leaving a building Research Brief / Labor

Which Policies Best Counter Mass Layoffs? Maybe None

A study of military base closures finds that labor-friendly policies had little effect on job growth after the layoffs

Three nurse confer in front of a computer screen at a nurses station Research Brief / Labor

Who Does — and Doesn’t — Suffer From Lack of Competition for Workers

Nurses, cosmetologists and other professionals find wages suppressed more than many lower-skilled workers

Three female workers planting rice. Research Brief / Cultural History

Why Offspring of Rice Farmers Are Better at Detecting Emotions

Raising the crop is a communal project, more so than the work of wheat farmers, who’re less attuned to feelings of others

Manager disapprovingly looks down at a distressed employee's work Research Brief / Workplace

Why Unloved Workers Don’t Share Productivity Tips with the Boss

Concept of attachment theory, born in developmental psychology, applied to the workplace