Measuring alternative work arrangements for research and policy.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Contingent Work and Alternative Work Arrangements, issuing body.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee on National Statistics, issuing body.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, issuing body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Statistical methods.

Social sciences.

Flexible work arrangements.

Physical Description:

xii, 160 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academies Press, 2020.

Summary:

Business structures, employment relationships, job characteristics, and worker outcomes have changed in the United States over the last few decades--in some ways unpredictably. A high level of interest exists among policy makers and researchers in addressing concerns about the future of work in the United States. These concerns are heightened by the perceived fracturing of relationships between workers and employers, the loss of safety net protections and benefits to workers, the growing importance of access to skills and education as the impacts of new technologies and automation are felt, and the market-based pressure that companies face to produce short-term profits, sometimes at the expense of long-term value. These issues, as well as related ones such as wage stagnation and job quality, are often associated with alternative work arrangements (AWAs)--which include independent-contractor and other nonemployee jobs, work through intermediaries such as temporary help agencies and other contract companies, and work with unpredictable schedules--although they also pertain to many standard jobs. A better understanding of the magnitude of and trends in AWAs, along with the implications for job quality, is needed to develop appropriate policies in response to the changing nature of work.

Measuring Alternative Work Arrangements for Research and Policy reviews the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) of the Current Population Survey (CPS) for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in the U.S. Department of Labor. The CWS provides key measures of temporary (contingent) work, alternative work arrangements, and the "gig" economy. Disagreements, however, exist among researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders about the definitions and measures of these concepts and priorities for future data collection. The report also reviews measures of employment, earnings, and worker well-being in temporary and alternative work arrangements that can be estimated using household survey data, such as those generated by the CWS, as well as measures that can be produced using administrative, commercial, and combined data sources. The comparative advantages and complementarities of different data sources will be assessed, as well as methodological issues underpinning BLS's measurement objectives. Publisher's Website.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction: Motivation for the Study

1.1. The Changing Nature of Work

1.2. Informing Research and Policy

1.3. The Measurement Role of the Contingent Worker Supplement

1.4. Charge to the Panel

2. Measurement Needs for Understanding the Changing Nature of Work

2.1. Employment: Measuring All "Significant" Sources of Work Income

2.2. Job Types: Categories of Alternative Work Arrangements

2.3. Key Job Characteristics Affecting Worker Outcomes and Well-being, Employer Strategies

2.4. Information about Alternative Work Arrangements That Could Be Provided by Businesses

3. Role of the Contingent Worker Supplement in Fulfilling Measurement Needs Related to Alternative Work Arrangements

3.1. Overview of the Contingent Worker Supplement

3.2. CWS Scope: Universe of Workers and Work Activities

3.3. Categorizing Work and Workers

3.4. Insecurity in Hours, Jobs, and Earnings

3.5. Other Information Needed for Understanding Alternative Work Arrangements and Their Implications for Workers

4. The Role of Other Data Sources in Measuring Alternative Work Arrangements

4.1. Other Household Surveys

4.2. Establishment and Other Business Surveys

4.3. Government Administrative and Commercial Data

4.4. The Longer-Term Promise of Combining Data Sources.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Online version : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Measuring Alternative Work Arrangements for Research and Policy.

ISBN:

0309678471

9780309678476

OCLC:

1201679444