increases on how particular individuals or their units performed rather than providing uniform increases for everyone. One survey in 1999 showed that 51 percent of employers used a pay-for-performance formula, usually to determine wage hikes on top of minimal basic wage increases, for at least some of their workers. As the skilled-worker shortage continued to mount, employers devoted more time and money to training employees. They also pushed for improvements in education programs in schools to prepare graduates better for modern high-technology workplaces. Regional groups of employers formed to address training needs, working with community and technical colleges to offer courses.

The federal government, meanwhile, enacted the Workplace Investment Act in 1998, which consolidated more than 100 training programs involving federal, state, and business entities. It attempted to link training programs to actual employer needs and give employers more say over how the programs are run. Meanwhile, employers also sought to respond to workers' desires to reduce conflicts between the demands of their jobs and their personal lives. "Flex-time," which gives employees greater control over the exact hours they work, became more prevalent. Advances in communications technology enabled a growing number of workers to "telecommute" -- that is, to work at home at least part of the time, using computers connected to their workplaces. In response to demands from working mothers and others interested in working less than full time, employers introduced such innovations as job-sharing. The government joined the trend, enacting the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993, which requires employers to grant employees leaves of absence to attend to family emergencies.