MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER)

The Effects of Worker Voice on Manufacturing Pay and Productivity | MIT Sloan New research finds that when manufacturing companies regularly incorporate worker feedback and ideas, both productivity and worker pay are generally higher.

What happens when manufacturing companies regularly incorporate worker feedback and ideas into their production processes? Productivity is generally higher—and so is production worker pay. New findings from Dylan Nelson of UIUC & @natewilmers.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social:
tinyurl.com/4vhswpvr

New WP: We study how minimum wage increases affect poverty and food hardship in the U.S from 1981-2019. Different from recent work, we study the Supplemental Poverty Measure + two measures of food hardship, factor in cost-of-living differences, and more. www.iza.org/publications...

How Meritocracy Can Backfire — and Five Steps to Address It | MIT Sloan A new book by MIT Sloan professor Emilio J. Castilla offers managers and leaders a practical, data-driven roadmap for building fairer and more effective talent management systems.

How Meritocracy Can Backfire--and 5 Steps to Address That: Highlights of the new book "The Meritocracy Paradox" by MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla, Co-Director of @mitiwer.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/4ybsd3xj

Congratulations to Tom Kochan @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social & Adam Seth Litwin and Ariel Avgar, both of @cornellilr.bsky.social! They have won an @equitablegrowth.bsky.social grant to study the effects of worker input on #AI strategies at @KaiserPermanente: tinyurl.com/mrybem8x

For their project, #EGgrantee(s) Adam Seth Litwin & Ariel Avgar of @cornellilr.bsky.social sky.social, along with Thomas Kochan of @mitiwer.bsky.social will use a case study to assess whether jointly negotiated AI strategies improve job quality and patient care.

equitablegrowth.org/grants/bring...

At the blog I wrote about a new paper by @natewilmers.bsky.social , @zparolin.bsky.social , and @lukaslehner.bsky.social .

We're living in a novel era of inequality discordance. What's going on?!

asocial.substack.com/p/inequality...

Are decredentialed jobs a route to upward mobility? Prominent employers, from Microsoft to the State of Maryland, are increasingly dropping college degree requirements when hiring. Does this provide upward mobility for workers without a college degree? Matching job postings to h
#sociology link

This paper from @tomlyttelton.bsky.social and @natewilmers.bsky.social is amazing. It shows that removing educational requirements can have big impacts for workers...except that employers don't really hire those workers below the normal education level anyway.

The Meritocracy Paradox: A Strategic Risk—and Opportunity—for Leaders - CEOWORLD magazine In boardrooms, annual letters, and investor calls worldwide, one refrain often echoes: People are our most valuable asset. Few CEOs or investors would dare disagree. Talent fuels growth, sparks innova...

"Leaders cannot simply copy and paste their talent practices from others. They need diagnostic tools to assess their own organizations, identify their unique challenges, and adapt solutions & processes strategically..."—Emilio Castilla @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/yc462b38

Thinkers50 Ranking & Awards Nominations 2025 Nominations are now open for the 2025 Thinkers50 Ranking and Distinguished Achievement Awards.

Congratulations to Emilio J. Castilla, Co-Director of @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social! He has been named to the shortlist for the 2025 Thinkers50 Talent Award for his new book "The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them": tinyurl.com/3mt777d3

What is a workplace health and well-being committee — and why do you need one? | MIT Sloan HaWCs can be a cost-effective way to reduce turnover among front-line employees and save your organization money.

What is a workplace health and well-being committee--and why do you need one? Learn more in this new article from @mitsloan.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/4w2bubd7

IWER's August 2025 newsletter is now available online. The title of this issue is "'The Meritocracy Paradox' and More: New Works from IWER Researchers.” Read the August newsletter here: tinyurl.com/yk7bbc9p

Starting a Workplace Health and Well-Being Committee: A Step-By-Step Guide for Managers | MIT Sloan In this guide, you will learn about the benefits of workplace Health and Well-Being Committees and gain information about how to set them up.

‪New research from @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social & @hsph.harvard.edu
finds that workplace health and well-being committees (HaWCs) can result in lower turnover & improvements in workers’ mental health. Read our new guide for managers about starting a HaWC program: tinyurl.com/yvs46sap

Emilio J. Castilla in Conversation with Renee Bales About The Meritocracy Paradox - Columbia University Press Blog In this interview, Emilio J. Castilla and Renee Bales discuss the strengths and limitations of meritocracy, the state of merit-based evaluation practices today, and more.

New in the @columbiaup.bsky.social blog: Professor Emilio J. Castilla of @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social, explains some key findings from his new book “The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them”: tinyurl.com/5dtrfnm6

Announcing Emilio Castilla’s New Book “The Meritocracy Paradox” | MIT Sloan MIT Sloan Professor Emilio J. Castilla’s new book, "The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them," will be published soon by Columbia University Press and i...

“The Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them,” a new book by @mitsloan.bsky.social Professor Emilio J. Castilla @mitiwer.bsky.social, will be published soon by @columbiaup.bsky.social & is now available for preorder: tinyurl.com/56cvrzan

Work and Well-Being: An IWER Research Compendium | MIT Sloan This collection of links highlights some of the research and analysis on work and well-being that has been conducted in recent years by scholars affiliated with the MIT Institute for Work and Employme...

Check out our new MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research compendium highlighting research on work and well-being :
tinyurl.com/3wpwuydy

The Surprising Potential of Health and Well-Being Committees | MIT Sloan MIT Sloan Professor Erin L. Kelly, who is Co-Director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER), found in a recent multiyear study in e-commerce warehouses that establishing Health ...

You might not think that forming a committee where frontline workers can share work-related health & well-being concerns would have all that much effect on a workplace.
But it can. That’s what @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social & colleagues found in a recent study: tinyurl.com/y4pej88v

The Market Basket saga: This time, the family feud is over succession. Will employees and shoppers care? - The Boston Globe A spokesperson for the CEO, Arthur T. Demoulas, says his sisters don’t want his children to take over when he retires.

There’s a succession dispute at the Mass.-based family-owned supermarket chain Market Basket, according to @bostonglobe.com. What would help? A mediator, advises Tom Kochan @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social. The situation needs “fewer lawyers,” according to Kochan: tinyurl.com/yhczt6mp

The Spring 2025 newsletter of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research is now available online. The theme of this issue is "Exploring the Connections Between Work and Well-Being." Read it here: tinyurl.com/3uw29wsj

Minimum Wages and Monopsony Power: MichalReichFest. June 6, 2025. Learn more: irle.berkeley.edu/events

Virtual registration is still open for the "Minimum Wages & Monopsony Power" conference! Featuring an all-star lineup of labor economists, this one-day event also honors career of Dr. Michael Reich.

📅 June 6, 2025 | 8am - 5pm
🔗 Register today: irle.berkeley.edu/events/minim...

America’s job-quality crisis and how to revive workers’ pay, dignity, job advancement, and economic well-being This essay focuses on the drivers of the job-quality crisis and concrete policy responses to address those drivers.

In a new essay for @equitablegrowth.bsky.social, @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social reflects on America's job-quality crisis, how it fuels anger & fear that right-wing populist politicians capitalize on, and how to improve working conditions: tinyurl.com/2k2v35xz

America’s job-quality crisis and how to revive workers’ pay, dignity, job advancement, and economic well-being This essay focuses on the drivers of the job-quality crisis and concrete policy responses to address those drivers.

"The crisis of poor job quality has encouraged right-wing populist leaders to pitch divisive rhetoric to struggling workers and their families..."

@elkelly.bsky.social on drivers of poor job quality and concrete policy responses to address them 👇

#EssaySeries

equitablegrowth.org/americas-job...

Our #EssaySeries on "The Rise of Populism and the Future of Economic Policy" is now live!

It explores economic factors contributing to the rising support for authoritarian populism, as well as any potential policy solutions.

Learn more & see all essays here. ⬇️
equitablegrowth.org/insights-exp...

The Trouble With Meritocracy Explore the concept of meritocracy and its significance in today's corporate world, featuring insights from major companies.

Meritocracy has become an increasingly popular term recently. But Emilio Castilla @mitiwer.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social explains that his research suggests that saying an organization is meritocratic can increase the odds of bias in people-related decisions.
tinyurl.com/muuna2j4

College graduates are feeling pessimistic about the job market. here's why Why college grads are getting the cold shoulder from employers

"College graduates this year are facing a very uncertain labor market," Tom Kochan of @mitiwer.bsky.social told Newsweek. "With employers not clear on whether the economy is going to go into a recession…the uncertainty is going to create a softer labor market…."
tinyurl.com/mpt44yc7

The Surprising Potential of Health and Well-Being Committees | MIT Sloan MIT Sloan Professor Erin L. Kelly, who is Co-Director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER), found in a recent multiyear study in e-commerce warehouses that establishing Health ...

A research team led by @elkelly.bsky.social @mitiwer.bsky.social found that forming a committee where workers in e-commerce warehouses could share workplace health and well-being concerns significantly reduced employee turnover and improved employees’ mental health. tinyurl.com/y4pej88v

Why do #migrant workers in #China not complain against #labor violations? Duanyi Yang @cornellilr.bsky.social
shows that most of these workers do not interpret labor violations as such because of their close local and ties with the employers.
doi.org/10.1177/0019...

"There are more Americans working at Walmart than in all U.S. auto factories combined….The future of the middle class depends much more on the jobs that already surround us—service jobs—than on manufacturing jobs." —MIT Sloan Professor Zeynep Ton, in Harvard Business Review: tinyurl.com/2y2bxwj8

NIOSH cuts threaten worker health and safety, say experts | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Cuts at NIOSH, a federal agency focused on workplace health and safety, could make workers across the U.S. less safe, slow research about how to prevent worker illness and injury, and shrink the pipel...

Cuts at NIOSH, a federal agency focused on workplace health and safety, could make workers across the U.S. less safe, slow research about how to prevent worker illness and injury, and shrink the pipeline of experts in occupational health and safety. hsph.harvard.edu/news/niosh-c...

Six from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2025 MIT professors Lotte Bailyn, Gareth McKinley, Nasser Rabbat, Anne Whiston Spirn, Susan Silbey, Catherine Wolfram were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2025.

Congratulations to MIT faculty members Susan Silbey and Lotte Bailyn! Silbey and Bailyn, who are both affiliated with @mitiwer.bsky.social, have just been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, along with four other MIT scholars: tinyurl.com/4n52yrdd