How We Work: Five Years Later

Full-time workers often spend more time with their colleagues than their families. So, what's the history of work in the U.S. What changes could be in store for the workweek?

And why can it feel so liberating to leave a terrible job? On today's show we'll look into all of those questions and more. 

Machines will soon take over for humans and slog through the dirty work, leaving people free to do whatever they choose in a world without work. We talk about what a post-job society might look like, and how we might prepare for it. Then, from 9 to 5 to The Office, we’ve got plenty of examples of cookie-cutter cubicles where workers toil away in soul-crushing boredom and fatigue. On today’s show: in defense of office life. Plus, we discover a class that brings a serious approach to leisure. 

At the height of the recession, the Class of 2011 was taking PSATs and perusing college brochures. What is it like to make plans for your future in a country whose economic future is uncertain?

To find out, we talk to four former students of Pembroke Academy: Matthew Lindsay, junior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Sarah Kelley, junior at University of New Hampshire; Hannah David, junior at University of New Hampshire; and Kali Mara, senior at Plymouth State University

All week NHPR reporters and producers are spending time talking to Granite Staters about their jobs. What's it's like to be a logger, a music teacher, or an accordion repair technician? Have a listen, and hear what its like to do some jobs that you've heard of, thought about, or maybe never imagined doing.

On September 15th, 2008, the financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11.  The subprime mortgage crisis had been percolating for months by then, as had a global economic decline – but the bankruptcy of the nation’s fourth largest investment bank panicked Wall Street, evaporating liquidity markets, sending the economy sharply downward, and sparking the worst global recession since World War II – a crisis from which the world’s economy is still recovering.

Richard Polonsky is an organizational consultant, and can, if prompted, easily talk like one.

“Being an outsider to an organization, I think people tend to listen to you more than when you are part of the organizational structure,” says Polonsky.

Based in Bedford, he has spent a career advising companies and non-profits on big campaigns. It’s a role Polonsky excels in: working from the outside, thinking strategically, and being blunt with management.

But as an independent contractor, he never received the same health benefits employees could access.

We’re continuing our series “How We Work: Five Years Later” by defining “employee satisfaction” in twenty-thirteen.  During the recession, many people held onto their jobs even if they were unhappy, and many employers were unable to go above and beyond the basics. But now, there’s more attention to this issue, whether it’s flex-time, good benefits, or better pay, and how these improvements affect productivity.

GUESTS:

There’s a change underway in New Hampshire daycare. Increasingly childcare centers are opening and family, home-based operations are closing, and some believe the changing demands of the workplace are part of what’s driving the shift.

On September 15th, 2008, the financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11.  The subprime mortgage crisis had been percolating for months by then, as had a global economic decline – but the bankruptcy of the nation’s fourth largest investment bank panicked Wall Street, evaporating liquidity markets, sending the economy sharply downward, and sparking the worst global recession since World War II – a crisis from which the world’s economy is still recovering.

As part of NHPR’s station-wide series “How We Work: Five Years Later,” Word of Mouth presents “The Class of 2008,” conversations with people who graduated from high school or college around the time of the global economic meltdown.

Do employees work harder when they are paid more?

A new study out of Harvard set out to answer that question and came away with some interesting conclusions. One, that employers should consider not just what they pay workers, but how. Offering cash bonuses increases employee productivity more than raises in  salaries, even if the amount of bump is exactly the same.   

Duncan Gilchrist is Ph.D. student studying business economics at Harvard, and one of the authors of the study. 

We continue our series, 'How We Work: Five Years Later,' with a look at younger Granite Staters and how they’re prepared for the workforce.  We’ll examine how we educate students, from high school to college, and how that’s changed since the recession.

GUESTS:

Starting around 2008, as the economy began struggling and banks got skittish about lending, foreign investors began sending hundreds of millions of dollars into Vermont.

They were attracted by a federal EB-5 visa program administered by the state of Vermont.

It allows foreigners willing to invest at least $500,000 to get green cards and live in the United States.

New Hampshire didn’t have anything like it, but the state is warming to the idea.

NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

Sound  of construction……

Heavy machinery at work.

Susan Ferre and her husband Charley Lang sold their home in Texas and moved to Berlin, New Hampshire in 2008.

On September 15th, 2008, the financial services firm Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11.  The subprime mortgage crisis had been percolating for months by then, as had a global economic decline – but the bankruptcy of the nation’s fourth largest investment bank panicked Wall Street, evaporating liquidity markets, sending the economy sharply downward, and sparking the worst global recession since World War II – a crisis from which the world’s economy is still recovering.

This week, we’re talking about work…what we do…and how our attitudes and expectations concerning work have fared under the long shadow of the 2008 financial crisis. Today, we’re taking advantage of some good timing. New Hampshire-based tech company Dyn is holding its third annual 'Culture-Con' tomorrow in its Manchester headquarters.

We talked with two participants in the gathering to talk how companies create workplace cultures that attract and engage and retain workers in meaningful and lasting ways, Dyn's COO, Gray Chynoweth, and Amanda Osmer of Grappone Automotive Group.

Note of disclosure: Grappone is an NHPR underwriter, and Gray Chynoweth serves on NHPR's Community Advisory Board.

Is there an adult out there who has not, in a moment of fatigue, insomnia, or on a particularly hard day at work, looked around at their life and asked, “Is this it? Is this what I want my life to be?”  Even people who have plenty of money and status and work in their industry of choice may find themselves fantasizing about a job that engages their spirit. A new book from the School of Life series sets out a practical guide to negotiating the myriad choices, overcoming the fear of change, and finding a career that has meaning. Roman Krznaric is a founding member of the school of life. He advises organizations from Oxfam to the UN on using empathy and conversation to create social change. He spoke to us from Oxford, England to talk about his new book How to Find Fulfilling Work.

  While government programs like mental health services were being cut over the last five years, one program has seen increased funding throughout the recession: services for people with developmental disabilities.  In particular, the state’s Bureau of Developmental Services has been investing in services that help people with developmental disabilities find work. 

We continue our series with a look at older workers. Some found themselves suddenly out of a job due to recession. Now, half a decade later, we’re seeing how they’ve adjusted - and the many paths they’ve taken, by choice or necessity.

GUESTS:

• Kelly Clark – state director of AARP-New Hampshire
• Dennis Delay – economist for the NH Center for Public Policy Studies; also New Hampshire forecast manager for the New England Economic Partnership

CALLOUTS: