knowledge workers - Publications - Faculty & Research

24 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Part-Time Employees Want More Hours. Can Companies Tap This ‘Hidden’ Talent Pool?

Part-time workers who want more hours are a hugely untapped resource. Strange, since employers continue to encounter skills shortages. Why are qualified, eager workers underemployed? Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

30 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most

the three-year analysis he conducted with coauthors Hongyu Xiao and Jaeho Kim, both of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. The results provide an important lesson for companies: “If firms want to make sure their best View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

05 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

Lessons in Decision-Making: Confident People Aren't Always Correct (Except When They Are)

choices influence meta-cognition,” they write. You Might Also Like: Looking to Leave a Mark? Memorable Leaders Don't Just Spout Statistics, They Tell Stories When Glasses Land the Gig: Employers Still Choose Workers Who 'Look the Part'... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

14 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

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

Teams, which have become increasingly popular. To tackle some of these questions, Sadun has been studying how 300 knowledge workers have been spending their time during the pandemic and how those activities... 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

“We’ve let this fear of litigation prevent us from even acknowledging age at work, to the point that we pretend workers in their 60s or 70s might do their jobs forever.” This silence about age can lead to surprise transitions that are... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

novel.” When it comes to building good rapport, the gender makeup of managers and their teams matters, Tamayo’s research shows. Overall, cisgender men manage other men well, and cisgender women manage other women well. When the gender of managers and View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2023

Soon after ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, business leaders began taking their first steps into generative artificial intelligence, approaching this powerful technology with a mix of awe and trepidation. It’s no surprise that one of the most-read articles in HBS Working... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

workers into management would help everyone in the organization better understand “what it’s like to work on a ramp, in the cold, with a frustrated customer on a flight,” says Hill. “The frontline perspective can give management important... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

06 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

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

reading from the Working Knowledge Archives Marissa Mayer Should Bridge Distance Gap with Remote Workers Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

29 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Time Pressure and Creativity: Why Time is Not on Your Side

empirical research on time pressure and creativity in organizations, and the results were somewhat contradictory. Over the past few years, there's been more and more talk about time pressure in organizations, and what a prominent feature of the work environment it's... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education; Fine Arts

11 Apr 2024
In Practice

Why Progress on Immigration Might Soften Labor Pains

Almost one-third of Americans consider immigration the most important “problem” that the United States faces, according to a new Gallup poll. And yet, companies say they need far more workers than the current system allows. Some business... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

corresponding increases in interest rates prompt fears of a recession. Indeed, a recent Harvard Business School case study details how four tech giants laid off almost 40,000 workers between November 2022 and March 2023. But an... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

02 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive

Absenteeism is so pervasive in Latin America and Asia that 10 percent of a business’ workers might not show up on any given day. This risk can create tremendous uncertainty, especially for businesses running on low margins, says Jorge... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Fashion

12 Sep 2023
Book

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

2022, they say, 16 percent of workers were “very satisfied” with their jobs, while almost half felt somewhat or very dissatisfied, according to “Job Satisfaction Survey: What Workers Want in 2022” from the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

14 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

When a Vacation Isn’t Enough, a Sabbatical Can Recharge Your Life—and Your Career

His research comes at a time when an increasing number of people report being worn out on the job, with 43 percent of middle managers reporting burnout in the US and 70 percent of C-suite workers considering quitting to search for jobs... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

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

high-level business executives died three to five years earlier on average than lower-level workers at GE, and the research links the deaths to work-related stress. “What we’re beginning to understand is that life at the top isn’t that... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

11 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 11

faced little consumer demand for natural products, and little consumer knowledge of what they entailed. The creation of new categories involved three overlapping waves of entrepreneurship. The first involved making the ideological case... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Why Salespeople Struggle at Leading

people. That’s a big transition that many people can’t make.” Source: Harvard Business School Working Knowledge It’s a problem that can permeate any layer of a business—a star performer is tapped to become a manager, then flops on the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

25 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

for policy choices.” Kerr, the Dimitri V. D’Arbeloff–MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, has researched the economic effects of global migration of workers for more than a decade, sometimes partnering with his wife,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Technology; Service

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

decisions that were so clearly disastrous not only for workers and others exposed to asbestos but for the company itself. Shortly thereafter, in 1982, with its asbestos-related liabilities projected to exceed its assets, Johns-Manville... View Details