Furloughs - Publications - Faculty & Research

20 Jan 2022
Op-Ed

3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

struggled with whether to lay off or furlough employees. Business leaders have had to make tough calls amid rapidly changing conditions with official guidance that keeps changing, and their decisions have run the gamut from trust building... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

27 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

How Remote Work Changes What We Think About Onboarding

at the end of the first week and at the end of the first month. THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic Coverage from Around Harvard and Beyond COVID-19 Business Impact Center (Harvard Business School) How to Make Furloughs... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg

01 May 2020
What Do You Think?

Does Remote Work Mix with Organizational Culture?

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic Coverage from Around Harvard and Beyond COVID-19 Business Impact Center (Harvard Business School) How to Make Furloughs More Humane (Harvard Business Review) Coaching Your Team Through... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 May 2020
Research & Ideas

The One Good Thing Caused by COVID-19: Innovation

Business School) How to Make Furloughs More Humane (Harvard Business Review) Coaching Your Team Through Uncertain Times (Harvard Business Review) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge If risk of contagion persists substantially... View Details

Keywords: by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso

01 May 2020
In Practice

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change. We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

School) How to Make Furloughs More Humane (Harvard Business Review) Coaching Your Team Through Uncertain Times (Harvard Business Review) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge Consistent messaging to customers A problem with... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

25 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 25

cuts in all parts of the business. They face choices in whether to employ layoffs or furloughs (unpaid leaves) for any needed workforce reductions, and whether to enact hiring freezes and other cost-saving changes to employee and... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

29 May 2020
Op-Ed

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

“COVID-19 is especially deadly for people with underlying conditions, including those related to poor diet, like obesity and diabetes. That is exacerbating existing health disparities with deep roots in food apartheid.” Gardeneers had to View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence; Agriculture & Agribusiness

13 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought

firms are temporarily closed and 40 percent of the workforce, on average, has been laid off or furloughed since late January. Retail, entertainment, food services, hospitality, and personal services industries have been hit hardest as... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

08 May 2020
In Practice

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

(e.g. rent). Next, reduce fixed costs, starting with salary cuts that commence at the top and the furloughing of all non-essential staff. Finally, reorganize to operate with a permanent lower fixed-cost base. Third, they must protect the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

13 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 13

Harvard Business School Case 314-097 Furloughs: An Alternative to Layoffs for Economic Downturns This note describes the practice of employee furloughs (also known as work sharing or short-time work) including their regulatory frameworks... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Inside CEOs' Pandemic Worries: Uncertainty, Employees, and Kids

and error took a toll.” On the detailed level, CEOs “worked on scenario planning and cost-cutting.” Most made retaining staff a priority: “We worked hard to retain all the roles we could. We ended up furloughing some people and switched... View Details

Keywords: by Gamze D. Yucaoglu, Robin Abrahams, and Boris Groysberg

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