January’s winter storms exposed what many workers experience year-round: when schools close, commutes become unsafe, or illness spreads through households, work expectations stay the same.

These moments highlight how much workplaces rely on workers’ ability to absorb disruption. Schedules and benefits shape whether people can manage caregiving, health needs, and unpredictable events without risking their income or well-being.

This edition of the Job Quality Newsletter explores how workplace practices and public systems can either reduce or intensify the strain workers face when life becomes too unpredictable to plan around. The conversations below examine how employers, workforce leaders, and communities are rethinking regional narratives, workplace flexibility, infrastructure investments, and inclusive workplace standards to better reflect the realities workers navigate every day.

Video — Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules

The traditional nine-to-five work schedule has long been treated as the standard. Many workers, however, do not have access to predictable or consistent availability due to caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, the pursuit of education and skills, or other life demands. Even workers who do enjoy such flexibility in the form of app-based work often face low wages, weaker workplace protections, and other hallmarks of poor job quality. This conversation from last month highlights strategies for building work that better reflects the realities of workers’ lives, exploring how employers and workforce systems can work together to ensure that workers don’t have to sacrifice job quality to meet their basic needs.

New Event Series — Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South

Join us on February 19 for the first of four conversations featuring members of our Job Quality Fellowship who are working to challenge long-standing assumptions about work and economic opportunity in the South. We’ll examine narrative challenges around work and opportunity, highlight strategies for change, and explore how to amplify approaches rooted in worker dignity, quality jobs, and community wealth-building. Register to attend and keep an eye out for the remaining conversations in the series.

Blog Post — To Improve Economic Opportunity, We Need Better Transit

In this piece, Senior Research Associate Maxwell Johnson explores how access to reliable and affordable transportation shapes whether workers can reach and stay in jobs. Maxwell highlights how gaps in transit infrastructure can limit employment options, increase financial strain, and reinforce inequities across communities. Read the blog for insights into how strengthening transit systems can expand access to opportunity and support more stable and sustainable employment.

Equity & Inclusion — Job Quality Center of Excellence

This guide explores how disparities in access to wages, benefits, safe workplaces, and advancement opportunities shape job quality and offers tools to help organizations identify and address inequities. Explore this and other practical resources from the Job Quality Center of Excellence to support more inclusive approaches to designing and improving jobs.