Articles by Ashley Putnam

Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
Worker Voices provides a unique view into how job seekers and workers in lower-wage roles navigated the labor market at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and through recovery—and how it changed what they expect from a job.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
The Federal Reserve held focus groups with workers and job seekers with less than a bachelor’s degree, seeking to understand their perspectives and expectations on employment. Here’s what we heard.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
How did workers in lower-wage jobs experience employment during the pandemic? The Federal Reserve held focus groups with workers and job seekers aged 20–55 years with less than a bachelor’s degree to find out.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
Have questions about Worker Voices? Get to know the methodology, coding approach, community-based participatory research principles employed, and limitations; statistics on participant demographics; and the facilitation guide questions used.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
We are grateful for everyone who contributed to Worker Voices. Thank you.
Two men and two women in focus group conversation
By Sarah Miller, Ashley Putnam
Businesses tell us they're having a tough time hiring and retaining workers. Do people not want to work or is something deeper going on? We're conducting focus groups with workers to find out what's going on. Here's what we've learned so far.