I am a professor at Harvard Business School, where I supervise our long-term project on the future of work. I also co-chair a project on the workforce that involves several Harvard schools. My research focuses on issues related to the evolution of work like technology, the gig economy, how AI affects recruiting, issues in education to employment, etc. I have published widely on these topics and host a podcast on the topic.
Automated-hiring systems are excluding many people from job discussions at a time when additional employees are desperately needed.
Job seekers increasingly want higher pay, more flexibility, and remote options. Meanwhile, companies continue to favor candidates with several years of experience, availability to work evening or weekend hours, and willingness to work in-person.
Businesses could address labor shortages by tapping into 27 million workers who are “hidden” from corporate hiring processes.
“People are applying to job postings thinking a human being is going to look at their submission, but they rarely get through if they have a gap in their job history or don’t have the exact right key words,” said Joseph Fuller, a management professor at Harvard Business School and lead author of the recent study that found more than 90 percent of major employers now use automated screening of job applications. (Washington Post, 11/2021)
“Twenty years ago, if I had 10 years experience as a warehouse manager, the likelihood that my skills would be pretty relevant and it wouldn’t take me that long to get up to speed was pretty good,” Joseph Fuller, a management professor at Harvard Business School and co-author of a recent paper on the disconnect between employers and employees, said. “The shelf life of people’s skills for a lot of decent-paying jobs has been shortening.” (Vox, 09/2021)
“Employers have to prepare for a ‘next normal,'” says Harvard Business School faculty member, Joseph B. Fuller. “Employees are unlikely to return happily to a workplace driven by the ‘old deal,’ in which the employer sets standard rules of employment and the workforce acquiesces.” "They will expect not only the right to determine the adequacy of workplace safety measures,” he adds, “but also expect employers to consider their individual circumstances, like caregiving obligations.” (Fast Company, 09/2021)