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World-class researchers, from a variety of disciplines, work here at the ILR School. Through the Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW), we support research that solves practical problems, improves the lives of workers and informs policy-making.

We serve as an incubator for applied research. We provide funding and coordination for innovative projects and initiatives. Our network of affiliated faculty, researchers, and practitioners help guide and facilitate novel approaches to advancing how we work.

Our membership includes programs and initiatives that study work and endeavor to improve the world for workers and their families, employers, and communities.

Employment and Work In New York State

Empire State Poll

Every year researchers at the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations conduct the Empire State Poll to survey New York state residents about how work impacts their lives. 

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Empire State Poll

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer the "future of work." It has arrived and having very real implications for work, labor and employment throughout the U.S. and globally. Yet, much is still unknown about how it is being deployed and where it can provide unique opportunities for businesses and workers.

CAROW is collaborating with ILR faculty, member institutes, and grantees to highlight research utilizing and evaluating the impact of artificial intelligence on work.

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Learn more

CAROW Events

CAROW Stories

News, events and articles

Study: Tech Can Empower Home Care Workers, Not Just Surveil Them

Cornell Chronicle
A qualitative field study, which is part of the Initiative on Home Care Work in the ILR School’s Center for Applied Research on Work, is exploring how workplace tracking apps can be used not to surveil workers, but to help them build solidarity and improve their working conditions.
A home healthcare nurse stands with her iPad.
Study: Tech Can Empower Home Care Workers, Not Just Surveil Them

Dr. Madeline Sterling Talks about the Challenges of Working as a Direct Care Worker

In this episode of MPR News, Dr. Madeline Sterling, MD, MPH, MS talks about the challenges of working as a direct care worker. Her research on this workforce reveals how these difficulties impact their mental health and wellbeing.
MPR News
Dr. Madeline Sterling Talks about the Challenges of Working as a Direct Care Worker

Worker Voice and AI in the Workplace

Researchers Virginia Doellgast, Ines Wagner, and Sean O’Brady found that works councils and unions in Germany and Norway were able to successfully negotiate the implementation of AI in their workplaces. Here we highlight some key findings unions, worker representatives, and policymakers can apply in other settings.
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Worker Voice and AI in the Workplace
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Yang-Tan WorkABILITY Incubator

K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan

The K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan CAROW WorkABILITY Incubator funds and supports innovative research that drives positive change for people who work.

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Yang-Tan WorkABILITY Incubator

In the News

Media Mentions

Unions play key role in keeping direct care workers in the workforce, suggests study

MSN
This article about a study of direct care workers’ turnover rates mentions both Ariel Avgar, ILR professor and director of ILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW), and Madeline Sterling, director of CAROW’s Initiative on Home Care Work, as co-authors of the study’s paper.
Unions play key role in keeping direct care workers in the workforce, suggests study

The Looming Crisis in Home Health Care

The New Republic
“The workforce has just historically been under-recognized and under-appreciated,” said Madeline Sterling, a primary care doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine and director of the Initiative on Home Care Work, housed in ILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work, commenting on home health care workers.
The Looming Crisis in Home Health Care

Health care is where the jobs are

Marketplace
Ariel Avgar, ILR professor and director of ILR's Center for Applied Research on Work, discusses the nature of health care jobs, saying that many of these jobs are difficult to do and unsuitable for automation or outsourcing overseas.
Health care is where the jobs are

Contact CAROW

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Contact CAROW

Get in touch

Center for Applied Research on Work

Cornell University, ILR School
Ithaca, NY 14853

Tel: (607) 255-4380
Email: carow@cornell.edu

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