Publications

Find at Harvard

April 2007
Case

Alan Kendricks at Cardiology Associates

By: Boris Groysberg, Colleen Kaftan and Wilfred S. McCalla, Jr.

Alan Kendricks struggles to address many challenges facing him as a recently promoted medical director for Cardiology Associates at Southeastern Pennsylvania University Hospital. He must balance his time taking care of patients, running a practice, managing up, down,... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business or Company Management; Strategy; Organizational Culture; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Structure; Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Pennsylvania

2023
Chapter

Manage Your Work, Manage Your Life

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

Work/life balance is at best an elusive ideal and at worst a complete myth, today's senior executives will tell you. But by making deliberate choices about which opportunities they'll pursue and which they'll decline, rather than simply reacting to emergencies, leaders... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Management Teams

28 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better

biomedical research institute. We measured employees’ daily work locations using building-badge swipe data, as well as various work and work-life outcomes via biweekly surveys. We found that each employee’s individual outcomes—such as... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

06 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

Does Hybrid Work Actually Work? Insights from 30,000 Emails

rated the productivity of workers on a seven-point scale from “unsatisfactory” to “excellent” in categories such as ability, cooperation, job knowledge, creativity, productivity, and quality of work. Hybrid is the right balance In all... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

July 2024
Case

Jacqueline Cook at Vendasta: Debating an IPO

By: Reza Satchu, Tom Quinn and Andrew Kosc

In May 2021, after a surge in demand for digital services that prompted high valuations for startups across the Canadian tech sector, Saskatchewan-based Vendasta entered the final stages of the initial public offering (IPO) process. COO Jacqueline Cook had invested her... View Details

30 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most

Many of us have been there: mired in rush-hour traffic, listening to music or news to take our minds off the grind, wishing we didn’t feel so stressed before we’ve even reached the office. A late-night conversation with a fellow researcher about the hassle of commuting... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

June 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Alex Montana at ESH Manufacturing Co.

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Kernish

Alex Montana sat at his desk pondering the career decision before him. Alex was director of the North American division of ESH Manufacturing, a $4.6 billion, Cleveland-based company with operations on three continents. ESH's CEO had just offered Montana a promotion to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career; Work-Life Balance; Manufacturing Industry; Cleveland

12 Sep 2023
Book

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

worsen with time. Many of these same people tend to rely on work for their identity, leaving them without a clear sense of self. The book offers three tips to stay balanced in a world that pushes overwork: Keep a log of your activities so... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

(Image created with Midjourney, an artificial intelligence tool) Happiness, an elusive condition we all want to experience, is a popular topic. It’s a complex subject. It may or may not require everything from good health to sufficient wealth to good relationships in... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

14 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings

Work-from-home employees whose days seem longer, with more meetings and emails than ever before, may find a new Harvard Business School study validating. An analysis of the emails and meetings of 3.1 million people in 16 global cities found that the average workday... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

04 Mar 2024
What Do You Think?

Do People Want to Work Anymore?

(AdobeStock/Halfpoint) Sometimes we experience what Yogi Berra described as “déjà vu all over again.” It happened to me several weeks ago and left me wondering whether it’s déjà vu or whether things really have changed. Years ago, my colleague at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Dying to Lead: How Reaching the Top Can Kill You Sooner

living more balanced lives, with stronger social ties and support systems. And researchers are looking into other ways of easing work-generated stress, Nicholas says. Additional research is needed to determine the degree and impact of... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

September 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Carrie Wang: Choosing Between the Family Firm and the Family Spirit

By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Sophia Pan

Carrie Wang, Investment Head of the Wang’s single-family office, contemplated her next career steps. As one of the first businessmen who had risen from China’s industrial rise, her father had grown his wealth to a considerable level, eventually requesting that his... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Interests Of Consumers; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Financial Markets; Investment Portfolio; Investment Return; Private Equity; Customer Relationship Management; Interests; Reputation; Work-Life Balance; Real Estate Industry; China

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

12 Dec 2023
Book

HBS Faculty Books of 2023: Find Happiness, Fix Things, and Fail Well

Work-Life Balance Younger workers are rejecting the idea of sticking with one employer for the long haul and are instead finding happiness by job-hopping and creating dramatically different boundaries with... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

what we should talk about,” she says. You Might Also Like: 5 Companies Where Employees Move Up the Ladder Fast How to Keep Employees Productive: Support Caregivers You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Four Keys of Enduring Success: How High Achievers Win

satisfying when the individuals were grappling with all four satisfactions almost constantly. Stevenson said it wasn't a balancing act, because the four satisfactions provide contradictory emotions and achieving one often hinders you in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2012
Case

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Strategy Execution; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits