Worker Identity Research Collaboration (WIRC)
How people think and feel about the work they do, every day
Download the full report
To better understand how people think and feel about the work they do every day and their sense of identity as it relates to work, ADP sponsored in-depth field research to learn directly from workers themselves.
We developed a report for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the social and cultural forces shaping workers, work, and livelihoods.
What did we learn?
Based on conversations with a diverse range of people, each of whom have graciously shared how they think and feel about work in their lives, we’ve identified four territories that we believe are worth mapping.
Time
Who owns our days?
What matters to us as humans has changed. People are reprioritizing how much time they are willing to devote to work and how much to “everything else.”
Read more about Time
Risk
Why embracing it feels like the better option for some
People no longer see having a job as a way to reduce risk and increase security. Instead, they value agency, autonomy and freedom.
Read more about Risk
Humanity
Reinforcing its role and meaning in business
People are trying to make sense of their place within larger social structures and examining the structures themselves. This, in turn, invites new interpretations of our existing models of work, jobs, companies, power and leadership.
Read more about Humanity
Relevance
Grappling with technology and platforms
Technology changes faster than people do. While the goal of most tech companies is to make things easier and better for people, the relentless focus on efficiency and productivity in tech sometimes loses sight of the humans who use it.
Read more about Relevance
4 Key Territories
of Work
Martha Bird, Chief Business Anthropologist at ADP discusses the 4 key territories of work.
Watch Video
Featured Webcast Series
How to Better Understand Your Employees and Why They Work
Join us for a four-part series where we will explore the concepts of time, risk, humanity, and relevance, and what it means to HR leaders in an ever-evolving workforce landscape.
Register Now
