We envision an economy where every worker

has a job worth having

The Workforce & Organizational Research Center (WORC) was founded in March 2021 to bring evidence-based solutions to the challenge of improving frontline job quality and business results.

Our team partners with impact investors, nonprofits, employers, consultants, and others who believe this essential workforce is a long-term asset to be nurtured and grown.

 

We value

Actionable scientific evidence

Rigorous research findings

Equity & inclusion

Lived experience

Authentic relationships

Creating prosperity for all

Working together, we help our partners build the case for worthwhile jobs — and create the pathways to get there — through human-centered research, tools, and frameworks. Read more about why we’re so fiercely committed to our mission.

 

  • In 2021, nearly 69 million Americans left their jobs,[1] quitting at the highest rate in every industry since 2009, a year after the Great Recession.[2] Over the same period, more than 75 million workers were hired, a 6.4 million job net gain.[3] The “Great Resignation” appears to be more like the “Great Reshuffling” — but why? A significant factor, it appears, is that many people have cast a more critical eye on their pre-pandemic working conditions, including pay, and decided they deserve better.[4]

    Much of this churn happens at the bottom of the market, where women, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups are overrepresented in poor-quality jobs. We see it most in industries like leisure and hospitality, food service, retail, and manufacturing — and the constant turnover is costly and disruptive for all.

    In today’s labor market, there’s fierce competition for good candidates and companies are struggling to fill open positions in low-wage sectors. Organizations are also recognizing the critical importance of thoughtful, effective DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and ESG (environmental, social, governance) practices to their future success. All of these conditions can only be fully addressed by working to transform every job into a worthwhile job.

    At WORC, we believe everyone can win, because investing in workers delivers equity, inclusion, security, opportunity, and much more — and unlocks the business value of an engaged, experienced workforce.

    ________________________________

    1 Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary - 2021 M12 Results (bls.gov)

    2 How did the economy perform in 2021? - USAFacts

    3 Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary - 2021 M12 Results (bls.gov)

    4 www.statista.com/chart/26186/number-of-people-quitting-their-jobs-in-the-United-States Richter, Felix. 2022 (January 11) The Great Resignation. Statista.

 

Reaching serious, long-term equity and inclusion goals is impossible without improving lower-level job quality

 

  • Think about the workers who greet, assist, and serve customers and guests, the employees who make or prepare the products companies sell, and the people who “wear the uniform” and represent the public face of a brand.

    The frontline workforce is essential, yet many employers have largely conceded that these workers will turn over at a high rate — and consequently, they dedicate very little effort to retaining them or enhancing their skills.[5]

    WORC sees a better alternative and it begins with worthwhile jobs.

    What makes a job worthwhile? One that’s intentionally designed to value the worker, through a combination of better:

    ●Operational structuring of work responsibilities and tasks — designing jobs so that workers can add value to the bottom line and feel proud of their contributions

    ●Pay and benefits

    ●Health and safety, both physical and psychosocial

    ●Opportunities for worker representation and voice

    ●Leadership and supervision quality

    Why do worthwhile jobs matter? The evidence is overwhelming, both for workers and their employers. WORC’s rigorous review of 3,000+ organizational research studies shows that better jobs are consistently associated with:

    ●Lower turnover intentions and more commitment to the organization

    ●Greater employee engagement

    ●Less burnout

    ●Better job performance

    Study after study confirms the value of worthwhile jobs. For example, each resignation can cost a company up to one-third of that worker’s annual salary.[6] Companies paying a living wage show better returns than companies that don’t.[7] And a 2020 Gallup study found a high correlation between employee engagement and organizational performance, with striking differences between the top and bottom quartiles for engagement.[8] Companies with the highest engagement ranked:

    23% higher in PROFITABILITY

    18% lower in TURNOVER (for high-turnover organizations)

    81% lower in ABSENTEEISM

    41% higher in QUALITY (defects)

    66% higher in WELL-BEING (net thriving employees)

    Job quality is critical to DEI outcomes. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are now business imperatives and these efforts are a central focus of the “S” of ESG, the "social" component. If organizations want to reach DEI goals and improve outcomes for people of color, they must design lower-level jobs that:

    ●Increase opportunities for development and advancement within the organization

    ●Increase autonomy to give people the chance to develop decision-making skills

    ●Provide high-quality supervision and mentoring

    These are empirically-validated pathways to lower turnover, decreased burnout, higher engagement, and other key performance measures, all of which are also important to reaching DEI goals. In the broader context, worthwhile jobs also promote work-life balance, community and family engagement, and improved physical, mental, and emotional health.

    ________________________________5 Fuller, Joseph B., and Manjari Raman. "Building from the Bottom Up: What Business Can Do to Strengthen the Bottom Line by Investing in Front-line Workers." White Paper, Harvard Business School, January 2022.

    6 https://financesonline.com/employee-turnover-statistics/

    7 https://justcapital.com/news/chart-of-the-week-companies-paying-a-living-wage-fare-better-in-recovery/

    8 Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., Agrawal, S., Blue, A., Plowman, S.K., Josh, P., & Asplund, J. 2020 (October). The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes. 2020 Q12 Meta-Analysis: 10th Edition. Gallup.

 
 

WORC is committed to transformational change

We make authentic connections with for-profit and non-profit partners large and small to help them reach their goals and ensure that every worker has a job worth having.

With a systems-change approach, we arm changemakers with the actionable scientific evidence they need to make frontline jobs better and more accessible to all people for greater impact. 

  • WORC Evidence

    Expert Evaluation & Research

    LEARN MORE

  • WORC ACTION

    Job Transformation for Alpha

    LEARN MORE

 WORC Evidence gathers actionable data and input from multiple sources and perspectives, while WORC Action provides investors with pathways for achieving alpha and impact through worthwhile jobs

 

There’s an enormous opportunity to win in the market for employers who get job quality right

 

 Our Team

WORC draws on the deep knowledge, broad experience, and rigorous training of social scientists, HR experts, and social workers to help our partners achieve real-world results

Ellen G. Frank-Miller, PhD

(she, her, hers)

Founder & CEO

Ellen has spent her 30-year career collaborating with investors, employers, national advocates, and community-based organizations to help make frontline jobs better and more accessible to all people.

She founded WORC in 2021 to help achieve the vision of an economy where every worker has a job worth having. 

An organizational scholar by training, Ellen excels at conducting rigorous evaluations and mixed-methods research to create scientific evidence that partners can put into action. Guided by deep HR consulting experience and social work training, she builds authentic relationships with non-profit and for-profit partners, gaining insight into their most pressing priorities and challenges, and helping them reach organizational, employee, and community goals.

LinkedIn

  • Madison K. Ryan, MPH

    (she, her, hers)

    Director of Operations

    As Director of Operations, Madi helps design and implement internal policies and procedures; manages recruitment, training, and onboarding of new hires; oversees coordination and implementation of multiple projects; conducts qualitative data analysis; and plays an integral role in organizational development. Madi earned her MPH from the University of York in England and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in St. Louis. In her spare time, Madi enjoys discovering new hiking spots and traveling to anywhere warm and near a body of water.

    LinkedIn

  • Margaret P. Jendrek, PhD

    (she, her, hers)

    Director of Research

    Marty advises on research design and analytic methods for evaluation and research projects, leverages the scientific evidence base to inform our work, and engages with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Marty earned her PhD in Sociology at the University of Maryland and also serves as Professor Emerita of Sociology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. In her spare time, she looks forward to the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles, loves a good mystery book, ballroom dances, never shies away from a political discussion, and enjoys good wine.

  • Molly Wendland

    (she, her, hers)

    Mixed-Methods Data Analyst

    Molly assists with analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data to inform research about job quality interventions. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she earned a BA in Public Health and also worked as a research assistant. Her background as an English teacher in South America, massage therapist, and yoga instructor has given her a strong foundation of how various work environments can impact the quality of jobs. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her dog Remy, practicing yoga, walking around the city of Chicago, and traveling.

  • Chassa Pratt

    (she, her, hers)

    Research Assistant

    Chassa assists with qualitative data analysis at WORC. She is currently a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying for her Bachelor’s in Social Work alongside a minor in Criminology, Law, and Society. Chassa is the inaugural WORC & Learn Undergraduate Fellow, WORC’s internship program created in partnership with Evanston Scholars. She plans to pursue her Master’s in Social Work and a career path that would lead her to work abroad. In her free time Chassa enjoys traveling, Netflix, and compelling conversations.

  • Annie Billings

    (she, her, hers)

    Social Media Coordinator

    Annie leads social media content development and strategy execution at WORC. She is currently studying Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where she is a James B. Angell Scholar. Annie’s area of interest is in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices with an emphasis on environmental policy. In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, reading, and experimenting with new recipes to share with her family and friends.

  • Annette Bellezzo

    (she, her, hers)

    Research Associate

    Annette is a master communicator who loves to dive into landscape research, qualitative coding, and data trends. She has over a decade of marketing experience in radio, customer service, consumer-packaged-goods, pharmaceutical clinical trial patient recruitment, and animal welfare. She served as the Marketing Manager at a farm animal sanctuary, where she created global-reaching content across several platforms, including a reality show on Animal Planet. When she’s not helping people find peace and tranquility in their living spaces via her personal organizing business, she can be found behind binoculars at the Montrose Bird Sanctuary in Chicago.

 Our Advisors

WORC’s advisory board brings a range of perspectives to our work, from employers and human resource leaders to workforce development professionals and academics.

Aspen Institute Job Quality Fellows

Nationally recognized leaders dedicated to advancing job quality and access

  • Rick Plympton

    Chief Executive Officer

    Optimax

  • Bhairvee Shavdia

    Managing Director

    SBJ Capital

IMpact investing perspective

Professionals with expertise in the impact investing and ESG investing fields

  • Nawar Alsaadi, FSA, SIPC

    Independent Sustainable Investing Advisor

  • Don Baylor, Jr.

    Managing Director, Head of Services & Community Impact

    Lafayette Square

  • Aaron Cantrell

    Executive Director

    Future Nexus

  • Samantha Katz

    Founder

    Invest & Imbibe

    Co-Founder & Board Member

    IDiF

  • Marcela Pinilla

    Director, Sustainable Investing

    Zevin Asset Management

  • Tom Woelfel

    Senior Director of Impact

    HCAP Partners

small business perspective

Small-scale entrepreneurs creating good jobs and social impact

  • Shawni T. Davis

    CEO

    Luminary Electrical

  • Ashley Hartman

    Chief Strategy Officer

    Global Source Distribution | Central Iowa Vapors | Hyve | Seedling

  • Joel Jonker

    President

    Down To Earth Compliance, LLC

  • Aaron Seyedian

    Founder

    Well-Paid Maids

Employer Perspective 

Executives offering insight into employer issues, challenges, and innovations

  • Sarah T. Billings

    Senior Executive

    Banking

  • Mike Brady

    Principal

    G3

  • Ric Eidenberg

    US President

    The Evolved Group

  • Ramsey Ford

    Co-Founder & Design Director

    Design Impact

  • Jennifer Gettleson

    Executive Recruiter

    ZRG Partners

  • Milton Ives

    Senior Executive

    Manufacturing

  • Brianna Sylver

    President

    Sylver Consulting

Human Resource Perspective

Experienced leaders with deep technical expertise on current HR issues and practices

  • Kimetha Firpo

    Chief Human Resource Officer

    Retired

  • Lisa Hunter

    Founder & Managing Director

    Newport Consulting

  • Jodi Starkman

    Executive Director

    Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources

Workforce Development Perspective

Nonprofit leaders helping to build workforce readiness and support better job creation

  • Hope Arthur

    Executive Director

    The Health Collaborative

  • Cyndi Bergstein

    Communications & Program Director

    Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance

  • Kelly Brooks-Hailey

    Organizational Development Specialist

    Civic Works Center for Sustainable Careers

  • Matt Bruce

    Executive Director

    Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance

  • Meghan Durso

    Senior Manager for Industry Partnerships

    CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity

  • April Harrington

    Workforce Development Strategist

    Chicagoland Healthcare Workforce Collaborative

  • Monica Perez

    Workforce Program Specialist

    Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology

Research Perspective

Academic scholars and applied researchers advising us on research methods and techniques

  • Pamela Chan, JD, MPA

    Principal

    Channel Change LLC

  • Kelly Coney, MA

    Executive Director

    Coney Consulting

  • Samantha Conroy, PhD, MBA

    Associate Professor

    Colorado State University College of Business

  • Michael Frone, PhD

    Research Professor

    Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

  • Angela Hobson, PhD, MPH

    Teaching Professor & Assistant Dean for Public Health

    Washington University in St. Louis

  • Philip Hong, PhD

    Dean, University of Georgia School of Social Work

  • Rebecca S. Kuchar, MBA

    President

    RSK Insights, Inc.

  • Peter D. Norlander, PhD

    Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Faculty Affairs; Associate Professor; Director, MSHR Program

    Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago

  • Yudong Zhang, PhD, MPH, MSW

    Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Director for Data Processes, Developmental Mechanisms Program

    Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Do your best work at WORC

Help our partners reimagine an economy

where every worker has a job worth having