Retraining workers for the future of work

You can feel it in the streets: Boston traffic is back. That's because some workers who have been remote since 2020 are returning to their offices. But others are choosing to keep working from home. In an effort to please both, Massachusetts companies are increasingly embracing a hybrid workplace. All this brings new challenges that underscore how the pandemic will continue to affect daily life for many businesses and their employees.

That's the focus of a new report from the state legislature on the future of work. The study concludes that the pandemic, social and racial justice movements, and new technology in the workplace require big changes in how future workers are trained, employed, and supported by the state and their employers.

State Senator Eric Lesser of Western Massachusetts co-chaired the Future of Work Commission. He joins us to lay out the findings and share what the legislature can do to help Massachusetts meet the coming challenges. Then we speak with Miriam Ortiz, Director of Education and Training at Just-A-Start in Cambridge, which provides career training, and Holyoke Community College President Christina Royal, to discuss what they need on the ground to help workers succeed in a new economy.