Career Satisfaction - Publications - Faculty & Research

08 Sep 2022
Book

Gen Xers and Millennials, It’s Time To Lead. Are You Ready?

stories from his own work experiences and the careers of CEOs and nonprofit leaders who navigated challenges. His advice for emerging leaders: Discover yourself. Test your “crucibles” to find your moral compass and calling. For instance,... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

Workers commute an average 38 minutes each way between home and work—a trip that can feel like a dreadful chore before the workday even begins. In fact, long commutes lower job satisfaction and increase employee turnover. Now, recent... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Feb 2020
Book

Open Your Organization to Honest Conversations

they tend to remain silent, fearful that speaking up could put their careers at risk. “A CEO might be trying to execute this corporate strategy and everybody in the organization knows it’s off the rails, but no one wants to be the bearer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Does Spirituality Drive Success?

Executives from a wide range of industries trooped to Harvard Business School to discuss how their spirituality helps them be powerful leaders. The stories emerged from three panel sessions at the Möbius Leadership Forum, held April 11-12. The conference explored... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace, Sean Silverthorne & Wendy Guild

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

percentage points higher in patient satisfaction surveys than specialists with whom the primary care doctor didn’t train, finds new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. PCPs and specialists who spent their early years together... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

20 Apr 2021
Book

A Simple Question That Can Guide Companies to Epic Success

work and its intensity as well as career concerns, social considerations, and the attractiveness of other job opportunities. Value Capture Companies create value by increasing WTP and decreasing WTS. They capture value by setting prices... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

13 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Managers, Here’s How to Bond with New Hires Remotely

better opportunities for career enhancement and mentorship, and higher overall job satisfaction ranging from nearly 3 to 5 percent. “The survey measures suggest that the virtual watercoolers may have... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

04 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

The Business of Life

dissatisfaction ("hygiene factors") are completely separate from those that determine true satisfaction ("motivators"). Insufficient financial compensation, for example, falls into the former camp. But having sufficient compensation will... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

10 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Key to Doing Your Best at Work? Be Yourself

John, the charismatic chief marketing officer of Netflix (once described by Buzzfeed as the “coolest” person to ever go onstage at an Apple event). Research shows being true to who you are leads to greater professional performance and personal View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ethan S. Bernstein

I have spent my career studying novel talent management practices and their effect on collaboration and performance. My core research focuses on two interrelated organizational trends that have become salient in the 21st century: workplace transparency (who gets to... View Details

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

manufacturing and engineering firm, before pursuing a full-time career in academia.) That all takes time, of course, but Toffel argues that it’s time well spent. “Given the substantial time we already invest in any research project, a few... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

04 Sep 2001
Lessons from the Classroom

Getting Back on Course

not currently in the full-time workforce. Many of the women who chose to leave their professional careers had approached Clark during his recent visits with alumni groups. They told him they felt disconnected from business and from HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November–December 2024
Article

Retire Without Regrets

By: Teresa M. Amabile, Lotte Bailyn, Marcy Crary, Douglas T. "Tim" Hall and Kathy E. Kram

This article explores the significant transition of retirement and offers insights into creating a satisfying postcareer life. It highlights the contrasting experiences of Irene and Lawrence, two retirees who navigated this change differently. Irene embraced retirement... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Satisfaction; Transition; Identity

Citation

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06 Jun 2012
What Do You Think?

Is Something Wrong with the Way We Work?

change, team members succeeded in freeing up one night per week from their devices and their work. By the time the process had been implemented in more than 900 BCG teams globally Perlow could present evidence that it had enhanced such things as excitement about their... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consulting

July–August 2025
Article

How the Busiest People Find Joy

By: Leslie A. Perlow, Sari Mentser and Salvatore J. Affinito

Joy, along with achievement and meaningfulness, is one of the three keys to a satisfying life. Yet it’s the missing piece for many ambitious individuals, the authors found after examining data on how nearly 2,000 professionals spend their days. Jam-packed schedules are... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Satisfaction; Work-Life Balance; Happiness

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Secret to Success: Go for “Just Enough”

satisfaction of "just enough." It's a classic dilemma. The ancient Greeks pondered the same question at the height of Athens' artistic and political strength in the Periclean Age of the fifth century B.C.E. The tragedian... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Nash & Howard Stevenson

14 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Smartphone Addiction

PTO experiments. These team members were much more likely than their colleagues on teams not participating in PTO to rate their overall satisfaction with work and work-life positively. For example: 51 percent (versus 27 percent) were... View Details

Keywords: by Leslie A. Perlow

17 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Resisting the Seductions of Success

In his novel I Come as a Thief, Louis Auchincloss introduces us to Tony Lowder, a lawyer in his early forties. Tony and his wife have two children. He works for the New York office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, but his job is just a resting spot. Tony has... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

06 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

Who Will Give You the Best Professional Guidance?

frequency of promotions, employee satisfaction surveys, and external recognition as leaders and contributors. Learn more about how internal coaching and talent and development is evolving inside organizations. Therapist What used to be... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Becoming the Next Real Estate Mogul

the firm's people was the most fulfilling of all. You need to know how to work with people, and that skill is largely experiential and driven by personality.—Kevin McCall Peter Palandjian (HBS MBA '93), chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Developers, Inc., recalled... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Construction; Real Estate

Publications