The following reports are available as free PDF downloads:

• The State of Health in the American Workforce: Does Having an Effective Workplace Matter?
  
  
• The 2009 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work "Work"
  
  
• The Impact of the Recession on Employers
  
  
• Times Are Changing: Gender and Generation at Work and at Home
             This is the first study released using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce. The report reveals two striking trends about gender and generation when the study is compared to data from 1992. First, for the first time since questions about responsibility in the workplace have been asked, women and men under 29 years old did not differ in their desire for jobs with more responsibility. Second, the study demonstrates that long-term demographic changes are the driving force behind gender and generational trends at work and at home.
  
  
• 2008 National Study of Employers
             The 2008 National Study of Employers (NSE) introduces factors which can predict flexibility and range of benefits. Size of company, number of union members, number of hourly employees and demographics of employees are examples of factors used as predictors. Employers that are nonprofits tend to offer the widest range of benefits for managing work and personal lives. Employers with more diversity in top positions and large employers also offer more support. Large companies are more likely to provide benefits which have direct costs, like child and elder care assistance.
  
  
• 2008 Leaders in a Global Economy: Finding the Fit for Top Talent
             Using results from surveys of 8,000 senior and pipeline executives from 27 countries, this study looks at what motivates corporate leaders to remain with a company. The study concludes that in order for companies to more successfully recruit and retain talented senior management, they need to consider the job characteristics which corporate leaders value most—having a challenging job, a supportive workplace, and a good fit between life on and off the job.
  
  
• Leaders in a Global Economy: Talent Management in European Cultures
  
  
• 2008 Guide to Bold Ideas for Making Work "Work"
             The 2008 Guide to Bold New Ideas for Making Work “Work” features the 2007 winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. This edition of the guide highlights how businesses adapt in the face of economic uncertainty. Prominent trends in the findings suggest that successful employers use tenacity, innovation and bold approaches to attract, engage and retain quality employees. The publication includes profiles on each winning company and reports on how providing a flexible and effective work culture has had a positive impact on the company.
  
  
• Making Work "Work": New Ideas from the Winners of the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility (2007)
             Published in 2007, this guide highlights the successful flexibility practices of the 2006 Alfred P. Sloan Award Winners. The guide offers insightful stories and tips from managers and employees of winning companies on how companies can use flexible practices to help employees and increase their bottom line. The guide covers different forms of workplace flexibility, five new bold ideas for integrating flexibility, and tips on how to get started.
  
  
• Supporting Entry-Level, Hourly Employees (brief 1) [78 KB]
             Supporting Entry-Level, Hourly Employees is a project on low-wage and low-income employees — employees whose earnings fall in the bottom 25 percent of the earnings distribution. The findings, which use data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, are found in three parts. The first research brief, What do we Know About Entry-Level, Hourly Employees, explores general themes about low-wage employers, such as the demographics of the population and characteristics of their employers.
  
  
• How Can Employers Increase the Productivity and Retention of Entry-Level, Hourly Employees? (brief 2) [145 KB]
             The second research brief, How Can Employers Increase the Productivity and Retention of the Entry-Level, Hourly Employees, concludes that creating more effective workplaces positively affects low-wage employees as much as or even more than employees with higher incomes.
  
  
• What Workplace Flexibility is Available to Entry-Level, Hourly Employees? (brief 3) [78 KB]
             The third research brief, What Workplace Flexibility is Available to Entry-Level, Hourly Employees?, reveals that low-income employees have access to fewer flexibility options. Most importantly, flexible options were equally or more beneficial to low-income employees than to employees with higher incomes. Employees with more flexible workplaces were more satisfied with their jobs, and more committed to and engaged in their jobs.
  
  
• Economic Benefits of High-Quality Early Childhood Programs: What Makes the Difference? [214 KB]
             Three studies in high-quality early childhood education which began in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have shown that high quality early childhood education can be seen as an economic investment. This report explores what exactly about these three early childhood education centers made them so beneficial to children and successful as economic investments. The report concludes that in addition to basic necessary characteristics of early childhood education like high teacher-child ratios, the programs were also successful because the program leaders were focused on the growth of the whole child and the regarded the relationship between the teacher and child as central to the child’s learning.
  
  
• Sparking Connections Phase II - Part I: Lessons Learned and Recommendations [975 KB]
              Family, friend, and neighbor care (FFN) is child care offered by extended family members and unrelated adults. Most FFN caregivers are not licensed but often have significant impact on the children for whom they care. Researchers evaluated the performance of select organizations which address the needs of FFN caregivers. The report recommends that such organizations build upon the core foundations of FNN care. These include: the relationship between the caregiver and child, the family support aspect of the care, and the social and learning networks which can be vitally important to FFN caregivers.
  
  
• Context Matters: Insights About Older Workers from the national Study of the Changing Workforce [1,445 KB]
             This report is the first research brief discussing findings from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce on the work experiences of men and women 50 years and older. The study found that the employment situation of older workers—small business owners, self-employed workers, and wage and salary employees—significantly affects whether a worker remains or leaves the workforce. The findings of the study imply that in order for employers to recruit and retain older employees they should consider creating work environments that have parallels with self-employment and business ownership situations. This can be achieved through flexible work options, job autonomy, and learning opportunities.
  
  
• The Diverse Employment Experiences of Older Men and Women in the Workforce [1,601 KB]
             This report compares and contrasts the experiences of men and women in the U.S. workforce who are 50 years old and older. The data in the report is from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce. It is important to study the Baby Boomer Generation because it is likely to change our ideas about work and retirement. The study found that older women earn only 55 cents for every dollar that men earn from all hours worked at all jobs. The findings suggest that policy makers should evaluate ways to minimize the impact of the disadvantages that older women may have encountered in the workplace because they may jeopardize their transitions into retirement.
  
  
• 2005 National Study of Employers [637 KB]
             The 2005 National Study of Employers (NSE) studies the prevalence of offered benefits, differences between small and large employers, and significant trends from the 1998 study to 2005. One finding was that small businesses offer more flexibility. For example, significantly more employees of small businesses than of large business change their starting and quitting times on a daily basis.
  
  
• Generation and Gender in the Workplace [441 KB]
              This report explores whether expected differences between generations are indeed supported by data from the 1992, 1997 and 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, and the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey. Researchers found that members of the baby boomer generation are more likely to be work-centric than other generations while members of the Gen-X and Gen-Y generations are more likely to be either dual- or family-centric. The report also looks at the effects of being dual- or family-centric, people’s drive for job advancement, and how many hours people want to work.
  
  
• Tips for Managers: Generation and Gender in the Workplace [53 KB]
              This document features tips for managers on how to assuage inter-generational issues based on findings from the Generation & Gender study on older workers in the workplace. Suggestions include developing training programs regarding inter-generational workplace issues, improving general talent development systems, and developing career counseling and monitoring functions in the company.
  
  
• Older Employees in the Workforce: A Companion Brief to Generation and Gender in the Workplace [379 KB]
              This report is a companion brief to Generation & Gender in the Workplace and investigates workplace issues of older workers and their relationships with younger generations. The report found that despite common stereotypes, mature workers are content with working for younger supervisors. However, other generational differences, like the amount of support workers of each generation feel, may significantly affect the workplace. Employers should be aware of inter-generational issues and take steps to alleviate the tensions.
  
  
• Dual-Centric: A New Concept of Work-Life [233 KB]
             This report outlines findings from the study Leaders in a Global Economy, which explores how executives manage work and personal life. Researchers found that 61% of the executives surveyed were “work-centric.” However, they also found that 32% were “dual-centric”—they put the same priority on their lives on and off the job. Furthermore, there was no significant gender bias of the executives who made up this group. The study found that being “dual-centric” does not detract from success, and may even lead to overall contentment. The report also provides strategies for being “dual-centric” gathered from personal interviews.