Job Quality Newsletter – Rest is Essential Work

As summer winds down, many workers are returning from vacations and time with their families. Many others, however, are still waiting for a chance to rest.

A lack of paid leave, unpredictable scheduling, and the broader culture of overwork leave millions without the time or support they need for leisure, rest, and care for themselves and their families. These challenges aren’t just personal; they reflect deeper structural issues that not only undermine job quality and worker well-being, but leave many questioning what work is for if not to allow us to have a good quality of life and time with our loved ones.

This month, we explore our country’s unique failure to provide any federal guarantee of paid time off and why rest and guaranteed time off are essential to healthy families, workplaces, and society. In a conversation with journalist and author Brigid Schulte, we dig into the roots of America’s overwork culture and consider what it would take to build a healthier, more balanced economy. We also highlight tools and frameworks to support that vision: a brief exploring how benefits shape job quality, an op-ed on how good jobs support time with our loved ones, and insights from the Job Quality Center of Excellence on fair scheduling practices.

Together, these resources offer strategies for ensuring that work provides the means for a dignified, quality life, rather than work itself becoming life.

Reject Over Work — A Book Talk with Brigid Schulte

In this conversation, inspired by her latest book, “Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life,” journalist and author Brigid Schulte draws on her work as a director of New America’s Better Life Lab to reframe the national conversation about work. Through personal stories, data, and insights from leading thinkers, she challenges our deeply ingrained notions about productivity and time. Schulte makes a powerful case for rejecting overwork to reduce burnout, promote fairness, and build a healthier, more sustainable economy. Check out the full conversation here.

Benefits Beyond Measure: The Role of Workplace Benefits in Improving Job Quality

This brief examines how workplace benefits — from health insurance to retirement plans — shape job quality and worker well-being. It maps benefits’ impacts against key dimensions of good jobs and identifies opportunities for improvement. For a deeper dive, watch our companion event “How Benefits Make Jobs Better,” where experts discuss the policies and practices that can strengthen the link between benefits and equitable, sustainable work.

📊 Read the brief.
🎥 Watch the event.

Time and Worker Protections

In this op-ed for Fast Company, I reflect on how unstable schedules, hazardous working conditions, and insufficient time off rob employees — and their families — of time together. Through the story of my father — a coal miner whose long shifts, unpredictable rotations, and exposure to occupational risks strained family time and health — I argue that quality jobs are the means to what we all desire: more time on this planet with our loved ones. Read the op-ed.

Good Jobs, Good Business Toolkit: Scheduling + Paid Leave

This guide — part of Pacific Community Ventures’ Good Jobs, Good Business Toolkit — shows small business owners how to implement stable scheduling and paid leave in ways that strengthen both workforce well-being and business performance. It offers practical steps, examples, and tools for making these changes stick. Read the guide.