More companies are trying to be fairer and more diverse at work, but they often miss the mark. While they aim to break down barriers, they can end up sidelining groups that need support the most, causing more harm than good. Researchers from Ivey Business School looked into a concept they call “benevolent marginalization.” This happens when women and people with disabilities face subtle discrimination at work, making it hard for them to speak up or make progress, and keeping inequality alive in the organization. The researchers studied this behavior in two places. One extreme example was shelt ..read more

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a part of our daily lives, from language translation to virtual assistants, it remains a topic of debate. Virginia Tech researchers are exploring which segments of society are more open to AI and which ones might be more resistant. The researchers analyzed how media with different political leanings reacted to AI. The findings showed that liberal-leaning media tends to express more negative views on AI compared to conservative media. This suggests that liberal media is generally more opposed to AI than conservative media. Gauging sentiment To gauge ..read more

Advancements in fields like robotics and artificial intelligence are making it possible to automate many types of jobs, bringing about significant changes in how work is done. Fresh research from Emerson College reveals that the impact of job automation isn’t the same for everyone and, if not addressed specifically, could lead to increased inequality. This study delves into the potential risk of job displacement due to automation for over 1.4 million Americans across 385 different jobs. The results highlight that the intersection of race and gender plays a crucial role in determining the likel ..read more

Research from Gallup suggests that workers were the most pessimistic about their living standards since the company started measuring this in 2009, with around a third experiencing anger, stress, and sadness at work. The company pinpoints loneliness as a factor in these findings, with a growing number of us struggling to connect with people either inside or outside of work. This was exacerbated by the pandemic, when so many of us worked remotely, with the various video conferencing platforms going some way toward replicating the human contact we so crave, but failing in various crucial ways ..read more

Picture a world of futuristic tales with spaceships zipping around and gadgets doing mind-blowing things. Now, think about how those cool ideas actually turn into real things we use. Well, researchers from the University of Akron found some interesting stuff about the link between sci-fi stories and patents. They dug into documents at Syracuse University, uncovering unique thoughts from Hugo Gernsback, a big name in sci-fi. Back in 1926, he not only started the world’s first all-sci-fi magazine but also edited it. But here’s the twist—Gernsback wasn’t just a magazine guy; he was also an engine ..read more

The ability of technology to augment humanity is not a new one, but with the release of generative AI in 2022, there were renewed calls for tech to help humanity rather than replace it. A recent roundtable was hosted by the UK Government Office for Science to discuss the matter. It featured academics from across the UK. Augmenting humans Some technologies are still new and not clear in how they’re used, and not many people are using them. We don’t really get how much impact they have. In the UK, where most jobs are in services and knowledge, technologies that boost our thinking could make trai ..read more

A new study from the University of Michigan suggests that the health of older adults is linked to their chances of falling for scams. According to the study, three out of four older adults say they’ve faced scams through phone calls, texts, emails, mail, or online in the past two years. Three in ten admit to being scammed at least once. Health matters The study shows that the health of older adults affects both their ability to spot a scam and their likelihood of being scammed. People between 50 and 80 years old who reported fair or poor physical or mental health, disabilities, or memory issue ..read more

When it comes to keeping employees happy and productive, giving them raises seems like a safe choice. However, a new study from CU Boulder Leeds School of Business suggests that tying pay to performance can backfire, making employees less engaged and lowering their productivity. “Pay for performance is a double-edged sword,” the researchers explain. “When used wisely, it can really motivate people and increase their sense of competence. But oftentimes employees feel like they choke under pressure.” Common practice About three-quarters of organizations use pay-for-performance compensation, whic ..read more

Workers who switch to different jobs, teams, or companies—called seconded employees—can boost innovation, according to new research from ESMT Berlin. Even though people and organizations want to pick new ideas, they often reject them because they’re tricky, risky, and hard to predict. The study looked at seconded employees at the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 2000 to 2012. The NSF gives out research money, and some employees work there temporarily. The researchers checked grants given from 1998 to 2012. The NSF has a program where both regular and seconded employees act as program dir ..read more

A new study from the Social Mobility Foundation finds that if you’re a professional worker from a working-class background, you’re making around £6,291 less each year compared to those from a professional-managerial background. That’s a 12% pay gap, even if you’re doing the same job. The study found that folks from a professional-managerial background earn, on average, £51,728, while those from a working-class background earn £45,437. This pay gap means that on November 17th, which they call Class Pay Gap Day, workers from the working class essentially start working for free, taking home nothi ..read more