Raising the Global Floor

New statistics on rapidly rising job loss appear daily in the media. Less reported is that working conditions in many countries around the world are deteriorating as rapidly as jobs are being lost - and affecting ten times as many people. Working conditions significantly impact our health, the amount of time we can spend with family, our options during momentous life events (such as the birth of a child or death of a parent), and whether we keep or lose a job when the unexpected occurs. Inexplicably, the global community has universally accepted the argument that any country that puts in place a floor of decent working conditions will suffer higher unemployment and will be less competitive. So pervasive is this contention that it is seen as fact, even without evidence to support it. "Raising the Global Floor" presents results from the first ever study of working conditions from all nations around the world. The findings are dramatic. In fact, there is no relationship between unemployment rates and providing basic protections in a series of critical areas. The data also indicate that good working conditions can make countries more competitive. In short, there is simply no reason that any American should be without paid sick leave, paid annual leave, paid parental leave, the right to a day of rest, and many other basic protections that would improve the quality of their lives. This timely book concludes by offering recommendations for how individuals and nations can improve their own working conditions in economically viable ways, based on lessons from those that have gotten it right. It will change how readers think about what's possible in a crucial area of all our lives.