The Gig Economy: Improving Job Quality for Gig Workers

In recent years, the gig economy has emerged as a significant force in the labor market, reshaping the way people work and earn a living. The shift away from traditional employment toward short-term contracts and freelance opportunities for many workers…

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Persistent Problems, New Solutions

If you chat with a childcare worker about their job, most will probably say they love what they do. Even so, the industry is scrambling to fill open positions, meet demand, and control costs for working families. While many childcare…

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Connecting, Collaborating, and Co-creating to Accelerate Change

Here at the National Fund, we’ve been buzzing with excited energy — wrapping up projects, kicking off new ones, and of course our favorite part of each year, gathering our sites for our annual Network meeting! This year we gathered…

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Mental Health in the Workplace: Supporting Employee Well-Being

In our fast-paced and ever-evolving work environments, mental health has emerged as a critical factor influencing employee well-being and organizational success. As we navigate the complexities of modern work-life, it's imperative to understand the multifaceted nature of mental health and…

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How Positive Youth Development Approaches Can Inform Your Business Choices

Whatever the future of work may be, there’s one thing we know for sure: young people today will be doing most of it. The U.S. is currently going through one of the most profound demographic shifts in its history, with…

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AI and the Future of Work

There is no escaping the reality that AI and the future of work are inextricably linked. In our recent white paper "Unlocking Economic Prosperity", we explored some of the ways AI and automation in the workforce are already showing up…

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Employee Ownership: What Can Workforce Practitioners Do?

Last fall, I wrote about the growing field of employee ownership (EO): what it is, the forms it can take, and how it can benefit workers. I also shared some examples of EO companies that are connected to the National…

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Youth and Young Adult Workers Take the Spotlight in Louisville

I often tell people that one of my favorite things to do in my role leading the National Fund is visiting our collaboratives to get an up close and personal look at how they are helping us realize our vision…

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Charting Equitable Pathways for Career Navigation

What would it take for everyone to have a chance at a promising career, no matter their race, gender, or background? Can we create a workforce in which people of color are not crowded into low-wage, poor-quality jobs with few pathways…

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Pass the Mic: Amplifying the Voices of Young Workers To Drive Change

At the National Fund, we believe that incorporating the voices of workers is a critical part of equitable and inclusive worker success strategies. We share this value with the Annie E. Casey Foundation which has identified the inclusion of young…

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