While at its best a job can provide us a sense of purpose, a more fundamental desire pushes us to enter the workforce: that of achieving a secure life for ourselves and our loved ones. Yet when workers cannot comfortably meet their needs — even when holding multiple jobs, and despite markets near record highs — the social contract of work is broken.

Shortly after the onset of the Great Depression, the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote of a sunnier future. The basic needs of all people would be met thanks to greater technological efficiency, he theorized. And though we would still have our insatiable consumer wants, and some would continue to chase wealth, the satisfaction of the needs of the many would free our time for other pursuits. The main problem would be figuring out what exactly we should do when we no longer have to strive to earn an existence.

Keynes’ future and the 15-hour workweek he prophesied have not come to pass. Living standards have risen significantly. But the dynamics of our modern consumer economy have meant that a vast class of people still struggle to afford the basics, all while employed in the production and provision of others’ wants. Technological advancements have depressed some workers’ wages, put them under the microscope, and threatened their jobs altogether, rather than meaningfully reducing the workday.

This month’s Resource Roundup explores the precarious position of workers in today’s economy. We open with a call by economist Dani Rodrik to focus on improving the service jobs many Americans currently have and put an end to the nostalgia for our industrial past. Then, read about how a weak social safety net contributes to what economist Pavlina Tcherneva terms the “enshittification” of jobs. In the Atlantic, philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses the uncertainty about the effect of artificial intelligence on skills and the importance of taking a deliberate approach to integrating AI into the workplace. Finally, journalist Aki Ito writes on the broken social contract between employers and employees.

The New York Times

What Even Is a ‘Good’ Job?

Manufacturing maintains a strong hold in our national consciousness as a primary pathway to a comfortable livelihood, especially for those without a college education. Nevermind that these jobs make up a declining share of the workforce, that they tend to pay less than most other jobs, and that the conditions that once made manufacturing jobs good-paying — namely strong unions — have largely eroded.

Service work now forms the bulk of employment and, along with personal care, is projected to grow significantly over the coming decades. Improving the lot of American workers means recognizing this reality and concentrating on bettering the jobs that we do have, argues economist Dani Rodrik.

Read Rodrik’s op-ed calling for a good jobs strategy that is focused on services. 

Levy Economic Institute

The Death of the Social Contract and the Enshittification of Jobs

Many of us have an intuitive familiarity with “enshittification.” We pay for a service, say a digital platform, that seems high-quality and inexpensive — and then the platform clears the field of competition, increases prices, and doesn’t reinvest in its product. The result? We end up paying more for less, without a ready alternative.

Economist Pavlina Tcherneva argues in a new paper that a similar phenomenon is happening in the job market. Workers are locked into jobs that offer poor pay and treatment, and the absence of sufficient social and labor protections restricts their ability to search for better options. 

Learn about the decline of the social contract between employees and employers and what Tcherneva proposes be done to improve workers’ opportunities.

The Age of De-Skilling

Technology has long replaced human skill in and outside of the workplace. Artificial intelligence is no different. But this time, the “de-skilling” brought about by our increasing use of AI may erode our basic human traits, like reasoning and imagination.

That said, much work is now collaborative, writes philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah. Well-designed AI assistants can graft onto this, improving workers’ effectiveness and reducing the burden of secondary tasks. The challenge lies in making sure we retain those human capacities which make us active participants in the operation of new technologies, rather than a rubber stamp on their outputs.

Read Appiah’s essay exploring the future of AI in the workplace in the Atlantic.

AT&T CEO’s Memo Just Made It Official: Workplace Loyalty Is Dead

Put in your time and do your work, the old understanding between employers and employees is said to have gone, and you would be granted job security. But such an arrangement, if it was ever truly widespread, is not the norm today.

The CEO of AT&T underscored corporate America’s shift to a do-as-I-say-and-be-grateful style of management in a letter sent to employees in August. The company didn’t owe loyalty to its employees, he wrote. The way the company chooses to go about its business, and its employees’ roles in that, was not up for negotiation. Those who didn’t like it were free to leave.

Read Aki Ito’s reporting for Business Insider on the poor state of the contemporary employer–employee relationship and why it needs a rethink.