Charter

The way that most 401k retirement saving accounts are structured is exacerbating racial and intergenerational wealth gaps, according to new research published in a NBER working paper. Charter reporter Michelle Peng dives into the effects of employee match programs and government tax policy on the retirement wealth gap between white and non-white employees, as well as employees with higher-income parents and those from lower-income families. Read our overview of the research in Charter Pro:

Do workplaces have a role in reducing political polarization? Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone" thinks so, though he argues that the right approach is "almost certainly not bringing them together to talk about politics... it's back to this connecting people about something that cuts across party lines." Read excerpts of our interview with Putnam for his advice on how to put those ideas into practice:

Super excited to be reuniting with Grace Zuncic, Brian Elliott, Edith Cooper, Erin Grau and so many other incredible leaders at this year's Charter workplace summit in NYC. Nichole Sterling and I get to share our tactical use cases and steps to getting the most out of #GenAI at work with your teams, built from all our work with the amazing community Women Defining AI. We'd love to see you all there this October, virtually or in-person! Link to register in the comments. If you've got specific topics or questions you want us to cover in our session, or while we're around on Oct 8th, add them into the comments below as well!

The 2024 Charter Workplace Summit is just 7 weeks away! Have you registered yet? Learn more about our program and sign up to attend virtually or in person here: https://buff.ly/3KxFByV

This year's Charter Workplace Summit is now less than two months away! Have you signed up yet? This year, we've invited Edith Cooper and Katy George to co-chair and work with us to curate conversations that will address the most pressing talent-related issues on CHRO and CEO agendas. Join us by registering for the virtual or in-person experience here: https://buff.ly/4f1QOpK

In many parts of the country, it's officially back-to-school season. That means new stressors for working parents. "Anybody who’s got small kids—especially under the age of 10—knows it’s hard to get them stabilized in a routine,” says Wes Burke, CHRO of Care.com. “You get normalized in the summer routine, and then all of a sudden, we’re changing it again.” Here's what workplaces can do to support them: https://buff.ly/3WUdkK2

Before actor Lamorne Morris became a national celebrity as Winston on the TV sitcom New Girl, he was a busboy. And a telemarketer. And a video-store clerk. A few weeks ago, he sat down with Charter's Michelle Peng to share what he's learned about avoiding and addressing burnout from TGI Fridays to TV's New Girl, as well as leadership lessons that corporate america can learn from Hollywood. Read the Q&A: https://lnkd.in/gdiE-vbh

The Charter Workplace Summit returns October 8! Join us in NYC or virtually to write the new #leadership playbook alongside leading academic researchers, top business minds, and forward thinking practitioners. One of the sessions I'm most excited about is The View from the Boardroom: People Strategy is Business Strategy with Edith Cooper (co-founder of Medley and board director of PepsiCo and Amazon), Grace Zuncic (chief people and impact officer at Cotopaxi and board director of King Arthur Baking Company), and Lauren M. Tyler (board director of Guardian Life). Other speakers I'm excited to welcome on stage include Annie Dean, Prithwiraj Choudhury and Brian Elliott discussing how hybrid and flexible work can unlock performance, innovation, connection, and wellbeing; Women Defining AI co-founders Helen Lee Kupp and Nichole Sterling sharing #AI use cases along with actionable strategies for creating a culture of experimentation; and Daisy Auger-Domínguez (she/her/ella), who will take us from "Burnt Out to Lit Up" (her new book, that I can't wait to read!). Register to secure your spot, and you'll also get our 2025 leadership playbook full of insights, strategies, and promising practices to navigate the thorniest challenges in the year ahead. Registration 🔗 in comments.

In yesterday's Sunday Briefing, Charter reporter Michelle Peng digs into a Project 2025 provision that has escaped broad public notice but could have huge implications for employee benefits: a new $12,000 (or lower) cap on untaxed benefits that employers can claim as deductions. For larger workforces, the Project 2025 proposal—if pursued by a Trump administration—could raise corporate taxes by millions of dollars, a cost that organizations would have to absorb, pass on to employees, or cut benefits to avoid. Kathryn Bakich senior vice president at human resources consulting firm Segal Benz, says that many employers are likely to cut benefits to stay beneath the cap, leaving many workers without the health coverage they need to keep themselves and their families healthy. "It’s kind of like your worst nightmare," she tells Charter. Read yesterday's newsletter for more on employee benefits, plus everything else business leaders need to know in the past week of headlines: https://buff.ly/4cpXV8B

Yesterday, our Charter Pro Digest included a deep dive into Microsoft's recent report on a series of studies from Microsoft researchers on AI adoption. The result is "a more mixed picture of real-world productivity boosts from AI across different roles and functions," writes Jacob Clemente. What you need to know from the report: