... and we're back

Workonomics paused for a bit. Labor policy and technology did not

Sometimes you get writer’s block and it messes up your whole day. Other times, well, you can stop writing for an entire year.

This is the unfortunate story of Workonomics since my last update in March 2023, in which I talked about how to respond to your toddler’s challenging questions on the future of work, AI, and automation:

Mommy, daddy, is ChatGPT going to automate your jobs? | Roundup #18

I apologize for the long unannounced absence. Writing on this blog has been one of my all-around favorite things to do, a true *cough* labor of love. I’ve loved engaging with readers on a variety of topics from the realities of the quiet quitting phenomenon to non-compete agreements to game theory and employer collusion.

But in Spring 2023, a few other things started taking precedent for me. One of my consulting clients last year turned into a full time gig. I moved to Spain to do a research fellowship comparing labor and antitrust policy in Europe and US. And a steady stream of conferences, weddings, and other travel made it quite difficult me to write in any particular focused way.

It’s been fun and restorative spending time on other things this past year. At the same time, I knew I had to get back to Workonomics. There is simply too many interesting things happening in the world of labor and technology for me to not continue.

Looking Ahead at Workonomics

We have some big things planned for Workonomics.

Later this week, keep an eye out for a recap post summarizing some of the major events we missed in the last 12 months. Think of it as a Roundup of Roundups.

In April, we’ll resume the Roundup posts. For those new to the format, once or twice a month, bringing together some of the recent happenings in the future of work, policy, and technology in one place. Going forward, we’ll expand the aperture of these Roundups beyond just the US, given the global nature of the trends we are witnessing.

We’ll also throw in some new surprises. I’ll be sharing some deep dive posts related to my research, such as some of the new EU policies that impact labor (such as the AI Act and the Platform Work Directive) and other data-driven pieces. There may be a guest post or two. Finally, we’re working on some interviews with a few leaders in labor and tech we think you’ll be really excited to hear from.

As always, if you’d like to hear about a particular topic, feel free to leave a comment here. You can also get in touch on Twitter or through Substack Chat (@nkav).

Thanks for being part of this experiment along with me and the rest of our (small, but growing!) Workonomics community.