Working Knowledge

In May, Willis Towers Watson conducted research into 681 large U.S. employers representing over 7 million workers. The results show that employers expect the percentage of their full-time workforce who work from home (WFH) to be three times larger after the pandemic than before it began. Respondents said that just over half (53%) of their…

In an April 2020 survey of 223 workers employed in the technology-sector, KPMG LLP discovered that two-thirds of respondents are concerned about losing their jobs to digital capabilities supported by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic software. Seventy percent of tech-sector workers also are concerned about having their jobs eliminated due to the economic impact…

The Economist reports that globalization as it has existed in past decades may be a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns regarding the Sino-American trade war had already destabilized the international business environment before Covid-19, and the pandemic added new layers of complexity as critical goods suddenly were in short supply. To limit the spread of…

Over the past decade, the main performance metric used to gauge the overall effectiveness of a Contingent Workforce Management program has slowly shifted from cost savings to talent quality. However, in the past two months the priority has reverted back to spend management. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive financial losses to companies around the…

A coalition of attorneys general from 16 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico again called on the Federal Trade Commission to stop the excessive use of noncompete agreements in the workplace. This is the third request since July 2019. Nearly 25% of US workers are covered by non-competes that limits employees from taking…

Research recently published by Willis Towers Watson of 8,000 workers indicates that a growing number of U.S. employees are willing to sacrifice additional pay in exchange for more generous retirement and health care benefits. Two-thirds of respondents (67%) are willing to pay a higher amount each month for more comprehensive retirement benefits, an increase from…

Beginning May 10, a New York City law will prohibit employers from conducting pre-employment marijuana tests. This is a step further than Nevada legislation that took effect January 1st in which it became illegal to reject a candidate from employment based on the results of a marijuana drug test. Both laws cite exceptions for safety-sensitive positions and…

Developers of gig platforms are pursuing strategies that combine the finding and hiring of talent with solutions tailored to specific industries or business needs. While nearly three-quarters of employers plan to increase their spending on HR technology during 2020, corporate leaders and managers differ on where workforce tools offer the most value. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that…

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has warned that malicious parties will gain control of telework client devices and attempt to capture sensitive data or leverage the devices to gain access to the enterprise network. As the number of people logging in remotely or connecting to cloud-based SAAS [software-as-a-service] applications rises, organizations have an exponential increase in…

As part of a nationwide effort to reduce pay inequity for women and minorities, three dozen U.S. state and local governments are enacting laws that limit employers’ ability to ask about or consider job applicants’ salary history. In California, employers are prohibited from seeking, directly or indirectly, salary history information or in using voluntarily disclosed…