GBL Podcast: What About Work?

The impact of labor research on our economy is not easy to measure. Research in this field has played a critical role in untangling various epochs of economic transformation, we now understand labor under various modes of production be it feudalism, the industrial era, or even the rich body of research emerging from the unfurling gig economy, better than we ever did. However, labor research has often been critiqued for its inaccessibility to a wider audience. Good Business Lab (GBL) hopes to change this!

With our podcast What About Work?, we hope to revitalize the role of labor research in policy and business strategy as well as informed conversations. The podcast addresses the experiences, both past and present, of workers in labor-intensive industries and other emerging sectors. Each episode will feature academics, workers (of all levels), external stakeholders, and independent researchers discussing their latest research and deconstructing global economic trends from their various standpoints of expertise.

What About Work? is available on several digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, SoundCloud, Amazon Music, and CastBox and is free to use for broadcasters, educators and institutions.

Episodes

Episode 1

In this introductory episode, we turn to history to share insights into the past lives of labor. We do that by briefly diving into the evolution of the garment manufacturing industry and what it has meant to the workers within this sector, then and now! We discuss the displacement of spinning and weaving post the industrial revolution, the historical gendered division of garment labor, and how the lives of countless women across South Asia are...

Episode 2

In the second episode of What About Work? we discuss the importance of soft skills in a labor-intensive factory environment. Soft skills are well recognized, but are they also important on factory floors in a blue-collar context?We discern their significance in the blue-collar setting by understanding how workers tend to take the social norms they witness outside as their biases in the...

Episode 3

The third episode of What About Work? discusses how soft skills can benefit female workers, specifically in combating sticky floor syndrome in factories. Conversations with female workers, supervisors, and researchers provide examples and illustrate how soft skills have aided their personal and professional development, thereby improving confidence. Time management, problem-solving, and communication skills helped the supervisor to function more effectively on the factory floor. It is additionally beneficial to the workers that work with those supervisors. As a result, we...

Episode 4

In the fourth episode of What About Work? We discuss the financial challenges of women workers in a low-income context. Despite having a steady stream of income, most workers are unable to stretch their incomes till the next pay day, thus facing liquidity constraints which negatively impacts their mental health.

What

Episode 5

The fifth episode of What about work? Gathers diverse perspectives on the ways to tackle women workers’ limited access to financial resources.

Can the private sector support low-income women workers in maximizing their income?

We consider one possible intervention, a salary advance tool by Good Business Lab that enables workers to have fast and flexible access to incomes at their workplace.