Publications

2008
Other Unpublished Work

Punctuated Identities and the Careers of Professional Women

This paper proposes a punctuated equilibrium model of identity change to explain how professional women's career goals and attitudes can change rapidly and dramatically during mid-career years. Data collected from interviews of 43 women alumni of an elite business... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Gender

November 2012 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Doing Deals and Leading Teams at XAF Partners

By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman

Private equity firm XAF Partners, created out of the 2003 merger of Shanghai-based Xuan Partners and AF Group, a spin out of the Shanghai-based, emerging market-focused private equity arm of a large European bank, had grown steadily over the last decade, establishing... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Leading Teams; Producing Managers; Delegation; Giving And Receiving Feedback; Managing Performance; Leadership; Work-Life Balance; Managerial Roles; Talent and Talent Management; Service Operations; Time Management; Performance; Financial Services Industry; Asia

July 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Supplement

Philip McCrea: Once an Entrepreneur... (B)

By: William W. George

Philip McCrea is dealing with the aftermath of the move of his company and family from San Francisco to New Jersey (from the (A) case). Although the move goes well from a family perspective, his business runs into challenges when he merges it into a Canadian company... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Leadership; Failure; Ownership Stake; Work-Life Balance; Canada; New Jersey

2023
Working Paper

Job Design and Workers’ Wellbeing: Evidence from a Hospital Setting

By: Susanna Gallani and Jacob Riegler

This study examines the relationship between job design imbalance and workers’ well-being. We build on Simons (2005) framework for the design of high-performing jobs and develop a survey instrument to capture workers’ perceptions of their job design and work... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Job Design and Levels; Working Conditions; Perception; Work-Life Balance; Health Industry

Article

A Multicountry Perspective on Gender Differences in Time Use During COVID-19

By: Laura M. Giurge, Ashley V. Whillans and Ayse Yemiscigil (shared authorship)

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how people spend time, with possible consequences for subjective well-being. Using diverse samples of remote workers from the United States, Canada, Denmark, Brazil, and Spain (n = 31,141), following a preregistered... View Details

Keywords: Time; Subjective Well-being; COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Gender; Time Management; Well-being; Work-Life Balance; Global Range

Read Now

April 2007
Case

Leadership Forum: Building Great Careers - Video

By: D. Quinn Mills and Carole Winkler

Leadership: Can I learn it, how do I do it, and how can I use it to advance my career? How is today's world different from the one our teachers entered years ago, and how does that affect me? The two videos on this DVD address these and other questions typically asked... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Work-Life Balance; Leadership Development; Talent and Talent Management; Leadership Style; Knowledge Dissemination; Teaching; Executive Education; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Style; Education Industry

November 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Background Note

Mental Health and the American Workplace

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Mental illness has been described as an epidemic affecting nearly a quarter of all Americans in their lifetimes, often during their most productive working years. Managers who can design organizations that maximize mental health can minimize these risks and boost... View Details

Keywords: Public Health; Productivity; Competitiveness; Stress Management; Depression; Absenteeism; Presenteeism; Work Culture; Business or Company Management; Work-Life Balance; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

May 2019
Case

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: 'One CMHC' and Version 3.0

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

When Evan Siddall was appointed CEO of Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) five years earlier, he had embarked on a major organizational restructuring. Now he is spearheading another round of changes. CMHC has adopted an ambition vision and five year strategic... View Details

07 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Mindful Leadership: When East Meets West

Asian beliefs, philosophies, and practices are influencing everything from the way we treat the ill to how we make cars. Now, a Harvard Business School professor is looking to the East as a model for developing strong business leaders. William George, an expert on... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

With Millions of Workers Juggling Caregiving, Employers Need to Rethink Support

Millions of Americans, from hourly retail staffers to corporate vice presidents, wrestle with the demands of work while parenting young children, caring for a sick spouse or aging parent—or both. That juggling act is made even tougher by rigid practices and rules set... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

October 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Mavens & Moguls: Creating a New Business Model

By: Myra M. Hart, Victoria Winston and Kristin Lieb

Mavens & Moguls is a "virtual" marketing-consulting firm of approximately 40 professionals. Examines the processes by which its founder, Paige Arnof-Fenn, learns the business, builds a power network of industry experts and potential customers, and uses this expertise... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Operations; Networks; Business Model; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry

August 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Shapiro Global

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Michael Brookshire, Monica Haugen, Michelle Kravetz and Sarah Sommer

Su Yee Goh, a director in a Singapore office, considers a proposal by a pregnant female executive for an alternative work arrangement so that she could both continue to work and spend more time with her family. Goh wants to keep the executive at Shapiro Global, but is... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Globalized Firms and Management; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Work-Life Balance; Singapore

February 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Marie Curie: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Marie Curie from a poor family in Poland to the pinnacle of scientific fame. The case describes how Curie, as a young woman interested in science, found a way to earn a doctorate at the Sorbonne and perform pathbreaking research on... View Details

Keywords: Legacy; Impact; Science; Research; Personal Characteristics; Mission and Purpose; Success; Work-Life Balance; Higher Education; Personal Development and Career

March 2021 (Revised June 2022)
Case

James Bryant Conant: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the rise of James Conant from a working-class neighborhood in Boston to president of Harvard University. The case describes how Conant, as a young man interested in chemistry and physics, embarks on studies to build his academic credentials and the... View Details

Keywords: Education; Science; Higher Education; Mission and Purpose; Research; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Education Industry; Boston

January 2013 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Beth Stewart: Navigating the Boardroom

By: Boris Groysberg and Deborah Bell

After rising through the ranks of Corporate America, Beth Stewart has become a corporate director on the board of General Growth Properties. Stewart is struggling with how to address her mounting concerns over the financial health of the growing large publically traded... View Details

Keywords: Career Management; Women Executives; Women And Leadership; Boards Of Directors; Board Dynamics; Career Planning; Independent Directors; Leadership; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Work-Life Balance; Real Estate Industry; United States

January 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower from a small town in Kansas to the pinnacle of power on the world stage. During his life, Eisenhower was leader of the Allied Forces in World War II, president of Columbia University, head of NATO, and president... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Success; Work-Life Balance; Power and Influence

August 2011 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Career at a Crossroad: Roopa Rao

By: Noam Wasserman and Lisa Brem

Akhil Patel is passionate about his business idea: an innovative green technology fuel cell. He wants to dive in and commit to his startup, but Roopa Rao, his fiancée, is much more risk averse, his parents don't approve of the startup, and Akhil has an enticing... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships

March 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Ayn Rand: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the life of Ayn Rand from Russia to Hollywood to New York City. The case describes how Rand fled communist Russia and, in reaction to the deprivations she experienced under communism, developed a philosophy idealizing free will and personal... View Details

Keywords: Writing; Values and Beliefs; Economic Systems; Society; Mission and Purpose; Success; Work-Life Balance; Ethics; Personal Development and Career; Publishing Industry

April 2022
Teaching Note

Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 422-066, "Gender Equality in Business: 100 Years of Progress?" The case traces the history of women in management from the early 20th to early 21st century through analysis of Harvard Business Review's coverage of women and gender. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Business History; Gender; Management; Employees; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Work-Life Balance; Prejudice and Bias; Social Issues; Diversity; Equity; United States