It has been an odd couple of years for labor in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of businesses, large and small, in shutdown. Employees of those businesses found themselves laid off, or furloughed. But as those jobs have come back, employers are finding it hard to hire enough people, thanks in part to generous federal unemployment benefits. Market forces have been pushing up the minimum wage to levels legislators had shuddered to consider.

Those who have kept working have adapted how they work. Instead going to an office or business campus, they have been working from home. Pajamas have replaced khakis as “casual office wear.” Zoom meetings have replaced gatherings around the conference rooms.

As we celebrate Labor Day today, we should anticipate continued adaptations. We should expect hand sanitizer stations and plexiglass shields to remain in placein the workplace. Employers may be checking vaccination records as well as references for new employees.

But we should also expect American workers to adapt, as they have throughout our nation’s history, to the changes in technology and the workplace. America is a country that knows how to get things done, and today we salute that spirit.