On “The Indicator” from NPR’s Planet Money podcast, professors Stevenson and Wolfers share what’s giving them hope as the year draws to a close.
For Stevenson, employers are coming to recognize the real struggles their employees (particularly parents) have in balancing their home and work lives; a balance that has always existed, but has become undeniable this year.
As a result, they are making “new plans for the future about how they can do it better, how they can provide a better workplace environment, more flexibility for their workers so that work, life, family, balance can actually come together in a way that will make us more productive at work and a whole lot happier,” says Stevenson.
For Wolfers, the indicator of hope was a bit more personal. For him, it's been the performance of his economic students this year.
“Amidst trying times and remote learning...their performance this year has been at least as good in any past year and possibly better,” says Wolfers. “That fills me with hope because so many students have had to struggle with remote learning…but if my students are any indication, and I hope they are, then at least the more mature students are doing great.”
You can hear the entire podcast segment here.
