readuncut4d ago

Labor is the most expensive thing a company buys, more expensive than the cloud infrastructure, more expensive than the office space, more expensive than the espresso machine nobody asked for but the CFO approved because morale was circling the drain and a Breville seemed cheaper than addressing why. https://readuncut.com/the-ai-bet-corporate-america-actually-made-it-wasnt-productivity/

#AI #LaborEconomics #CorporateAmerica #TechLayoffs

AI Layoffs and Wage Compression: The Bet Corporate America Made

AI gave corporate America a way to gut headcount and get applauded for it. An NBER study found only 2% of execs attributed cuts to actual AI, but 60% cut in anticipation of efficiencies that haven't arrived. The bet was never productivity. It was permanent wage compression with better PR.

Read Uncut
OnlySky, Inc.Apr 29

TVs get cheaper every year. So does fast fashion. But rent, healthcare, and college tuition keep climbing. Baumol explained this in 1966. We're still living it. by @daylightatheism.bsky.social

https://onlys.ky/cost-disease/

#Economics #CostOfLiving #Inequality #LaborEconomics #PublicPolicy

Cost disease: Why everything is so damn expensive

There's a deeper cause than greed or inefficiency.

OnlySky
Dennis Alexis Valin DittrichApr 27
Choice Architecture in Occupational Choices
http://repec.business.uzh.ch/RePEc/iso/leadinghouse/0255_lhwpaper.pdf
This study uses a Swiss job board to analyze how rank order and design influence high-stakes occupational choices. Higher rankings increased applications, especially for high-paying and gender-congruent occupations. Users interpreted rank to justify choices aligning with identity, providing field evidence for motivated reasoning. An interactive, visually enriched interface redesign boosted applications and watch list usage. Results show that reducing cognitive load expands the variety of options individuals consider and remember.
#choicearchitecture #motivatedreasoning #laborEconomics #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon
#BoundedRationality
Dennis Alexis Valin DittrichApr 27

Extending Working Lives: A Systematic Review of Motivations, Determinants, and Institutional Contexts
https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/307829408/ROA_TR_2026_2_Extending_Working_Lives.pdf
This review of 103 studies examines determinants of labor participation beyond #retirement age across diverse institutional contexts. Causal evidence indicates that pension reforms and tax incentives yield only modest impacts on extending working lives. Instead, employer practices and workplace flexibility act as primary determinants for feasible post-retirement employment. Findings reveal that financial necessity drives liberal systems, whereas intrinsic motives characterize social-democratic contexts. Success requires aligning macro-level policy with firm-level adaptations to support older workers.

…with generous references to
Working beyond retirement age in Germany: The employee’s perspective https://economicscience.net/publications/2011-les/
…individuals with lower income or wealth are more likely to continue working past the statutory retirement age
…financial security enables full labor market withdrawal
… functional capacity predicts the ability to continue working but not necessarily the intention to do so
… work motivation predicts willingness to remain employed beyond retirement age in Germany, partly through its positive association with self-reported work ability and openness to further education. Job rewards also increase willingness to continue working.

#activeaging #pensionreform #laborEconomics

Dennis Alexis Valin DittrichApr 20
Do Firms Share their Profits Equally with Women and Men? The Role of Human Capital, Managerial Positions and Unions https://docs.iza.org/dp18388.pdf
"… wage-profit elasticity is estimated at 2.8% and is not statistically different for women and men. These non-differing elasticities therefore imply a non-significant price effect in the gender wage gap, which is estimated in our analysis at 15.6%
… higher human capital – measured here by education level or tenure – and holding a managerial position increase rent-sharing for both men and women
… Still, rent-sharing seems to fuel the gender wage gap, albeit to a fairly modest extent (at around 5% of the gender wage gap for our benchmark specification) through the channel of segregation (i.e. women are somewhat more concentrated in less profitable firms)"
#gpg #wages #LaborEconomics
Viral Trend DailyApr 10
What makes this notable is the split between sentiment and behavior. Public frustration with tipping has risen sharply, yet restaurant gratuity levels remain relatively stable, suggesting social pressure still overrides irritation in many contexts.
#TippingCulture #TipFatigue #LaborEconomics #ConsumerBehavior #Hospitality #news #usa
glitchmentalMXFeb 10
Crítica de la economía algorítmica: La paradoja del aumento de carga laboral tras la implementación de sistemas de IA productiva en 2026. 🧠👾 🔗 https://www.glitchmental.com/2026/02/ia-productividad-paradoja-horas-2026.html #LaborEconomics #AI #FutureOfWork #GlitchMentalMX
Techdirt [Unofficial]Feb 3

Turns Out They Didn’t Really Want You To Bring Your Whole Self To Work

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/03/turns-out-they-didnt-really-want-you-to-bring-your-whole-self-to-work/

Turns Out They Didn’t Really Want You To Bring Your Whole Self To Work

For years, we watched Silicon Valley executives perform elaborate corporate theater about “values” and “belonging” and “bringing your whole self to work.” If you…

Techdirt
Andy TsengNov 23
Interesting angle, but letting your best people walk just to avoid paying them more seems like self-sabotage. Sure, you keep “solid” workers at standard wages, but isn’t that how you end up with mediocrity baked in? #WorkCulture #HR #BusinessStrategy #LaborEconomics

Why top firms paradoxically fi...
Why top firms paradoxically fire good workers

Elite firms’ culture of employee turnover isn’t arbitrary but a rational way to signal talent and boost profits, a new study finds.

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Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow – No trackers, no ads. Black type, white background. Privacy policy: we don't collect or retain any data at all ever period. [Unofficial]Nov 7, 2025

Pluralistic: The enshittification of labor (07 Nov 2025)

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://pluralistic.net/2025/11/07/postwar-social-contract/

Pluralistic: The enshittification of labor (07 Nov 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow