Career outcomes are shaped by position in the market
Most explanations of careers focus on skill, experience, and performance.
These matter. But they do not fully explain outcomes.
This project explores how position in the labour market shapes opportunity, pay, and mobility over time.
What is Exchange Power Lab​
Exchange Power Lab is an ongoing research project examining how outcomes are formed in the labour market.
It focuses on how opportunity, mobility, and compensation emerge from underlying market dynamics, rather than individual performance alone.
Why common explanations fall short​
Careers are often explained through:
- capability
- effort
- progression within organisations
These explanations overlook the role of alternatives, demand, and mobility. As a result, similar levels of ability can lead to very different outcomes.
Position determines outcomes
In labour markets, outcomes are not assigned. They emerge.
They reflect how many alternatives exist, how easily movement can occur, and how organisations respond to those conditions.
The Exchange Power Framework
The framework describes position through three interacting dimensions:
- Opportunities,
- Pay, and
- Mobility.
Together, they provide a more consistent explanation of outcomes than performance alone.
Insights
You are not paid for your value. You are paid for your position.
Type your paragraph here
Mobility is often the unseen enabler of better outcomes.
Type your paragraph here
Your skills matter. But they are not the final word.
Type your paragraph here