May 27, 2026
New insights based on the American Job Quality Study will be presented at the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) annual meeting in Minneapolis. The topics include worker voice, workplace experiences by gender and sexual identity, and job quality among the self-employed.
The session, “The Quality of Jobs: New Survey Evidence from the American Job Quality Study,” is scheduled from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. The Upjohn Institute’s Susan Houseman will chair the session, and Abigail Wozniak of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is the discussant.
The American Job Quality Study (AJQS) surveyed about 18,000 workers in 2025 and 2026 to build a comprehensive picture of job quality. The study is a collaboration among Jobs for the Future, the Families & Workers Fund, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, and Gallup.
The LERA session will feature three presentations:
Introducing Worker Voice as a Dimension of Job Quality
When it comes to determining pay, working conditions, and the use of new technologies, data from the AJQS reveals large gaps between the influence workers want and the influence they have. These gaps are tied to lower job satisfaction and worse health and safety outcomes, suggesting that the ability to shape decisions that affect one’s job is an important aspect of job quality. Read the related paper here.
Presenters: Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia University; and Thomas A. Kochan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Gender and Job Quality in 2025: Looking Beyond Pay and Beyond the Binary
Evidence about how work experiences vary across sexual and gender identities is rare. Drawing on the unique scale of the AJQS, this presentation shows that compared to cisgender men, all other groups experience more discrimination and harassment on the job, with the prevalence particularly high for trans and non-binary individuals. The findings point to the need to evaluate public and employer policies addressing these aspects of job quality.
Presenters: Erin L. Kelly, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Kirsten F. Siebach, Johns Hopkins University
Self-Employment and Job Quality
What does job quality look like for self-employed workers and does it vary among business owners and those in independent contractor arrangements? The self-employed may have greater opportunities for profit than employees, but they face greater economic risks and miss out on the legal protections employees have. Although autonomy is often seen as central to self-employment, the findings show that many lack autonomy and control over their work, especially those in independent contractor arrangements. These results are consistent with other evidence showing that misclassification of workers as independent contractors is widespread in the United States. Read the related papers here and here.
Presenters: Katharine G. Abraham, University of Maryland; Susan N. Houseman, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research; and Beth C. Truesdale, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
This session demonstrates that job quality cannot be measured by pay alone. It offers new evidence for researchers, policymakers, employers, and worker advocates seeking to understand who has access to good jobs — and what can be done when workers do not.
Experts
