Worker Productivity - Publications - Faculty & Research

28 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Profit Power of Corporate Culture

much more likely to remain in an organization, leading directly to fewer hires from outside the organization," Heskett writes in the book. "This, in turn, results in lower wage costs for talent; lower recruiting, hiring, and training costs; and higher View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Rethinking Activity-Based Costing

three activities. But while that distribution did reflect how workers spent their productive time, the fact that their total productive time was significantly less than their... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & Steven R. Anderson

09 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

The Simple Secret of Effective Mentoring Programs

companies would be better off making mentoring mandatory for all new workers since that would yield much higher productivity and performance gains, the researchers say. "You have to make the program apply to... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

18 Dec 2017
Op-Ed

Why Employers Must Stop Requiring College Degrees For Middle-Skill Jobs

Credit: Pixsooz American companies have a problem. Over the past decade, they have begun to demand a bachelor’s degree in hiring workers for jobs that traditionally haven’t required one. This uptick in credentialing, or “degree inflation,” rested on the belief that... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller

31 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

Distressed Employees? Try Resilience Training

Every year depression affects one in every five employees and costs American businesses $210 billion in medical bills and lost productivity. In fact, for every worker with a depressive disorder, a company loses an average of 32 View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

things, they can resolve it internally more quickly and in a more efficient way than if it goes to regulators. Although we don’t study this, I think it could also empower employees to feel ownership of the company because they’re helping in the overall growth and View Details

Keywords: by April White

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Birth of the American Salesman

new recruits. They often even instructed salesmen how to stand while talking with a customer, or how to hand over the pen at "closing." The revolution in selling had consequences beyond individual firms. The growth of systematic methods of sales management... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

grants workers the flexibility to choose where to work and live, could be a win-win for companies and employees. The pre-pandemic study that we conducted at the United States Patent Office documents 4.4 percent View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

advice to restaurant owners, staff, investors, and patrons that we offer below. How did it deteriorate so quickly? Restaurants are universally labor intensive—by any productivity metric they rank among the least View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

of organizational and managerial processes from within, can be just as effective at torpedoing productivity both then and now, Thomke says. As workers toss time-consuming and frustrating curveballs in the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

17 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 17

paper, we investigate how these two strategies may bring different benefits within the same day and across days. Additionally, we examine the impact of these strategies on both worker productivity and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Aug 2014
HBS Case

Starbucks Reinvented

comfort, connection, and respect for its product and the communities Starbucks serves. CEO Howard Schultz has reignited Starbucks with innovative new offerings and by refocusing workers on the company's core... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ashley V. Whillans

Engaged with field work in East Africa, South Asia, and in several large hybrid organizations in the United States, Professor Whillans places a focus on exploring questions with strong theoretical motivation in the social psychological literature and relevant... View Details

17 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Welcome to Retirement. Who Am I Now?

psychological boundaries with your spouse, and people vary in how bumpy that transition is” “Many people will say that they have to figure out who they are in terms of always having been a really productive person,” Amabile says. “They... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation

07 Jul 2021
Book

Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust

investigating its own supply chain for worker exploitation. The authors say companies that are adept at building trust focus on four key elements: Competence: While every company needs to be competent—capable of creating and delivering... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

01 Mar 2023
What Do You Think?

How Much Does 'Deep Purpose' Matter to the Bottom Line?

comments that reflected the views of others. She said, “ being in the office can be fun, but it is like taking a day off. You have to make up for the lost productivity later.” She described “all the people with earbuds to drown out the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Increase Middle Class Incomes

productivity; and then workers need to capture those productivity gains through higher wages. “What we find is that’s not the case,” Rouen says. “We have seen corporate profits rise and unemployment fall to... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

bloggers are buzzing with guidance about ways to sustain employee engagement and productivity in the chaos of a pandemic. Unfortunately, most Management 101 advice does not recognize that in times like these, the manager's toolkit must... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

09 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

suppliers' production processes—whether it be their pollution emissions, the human rights of their workers, or the pay and safety conditions under which their workers operate. Wal-Mart's recent initiatives... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

We have to recalibrate our minds in terms of why we’re doing remote work now. In this moment of panic, when companies and workers are trying to figure out how to be productive and how to be happy working... View Details