As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to recede, should companies that had let employees work from home during the pandemic call them back to the office? Many managers argue that employees in the office are more productive and that working from home reduces firm performance. Many employees counter that eliminating commutes and giving […]
Read More… from Productivity or Control? What Truly Motivates Return-to-Office Mandates
With many companies facing increased challenges in attracting and keeping employees, employee engagement and commitment has become even more vital to organizational success than ever before. Recent research has emphasized the positive impact of “organizational belonging” (OB) on employee satisfaction and engagement. OB is defined as “experiencing an acknowledgment of one’s talents, interests, and experiences” […]
Read More… from Do I Belong Here? Measuring Employee Organizational Belonging
The global pandemic left companies with no choice except for essential professions, where employees had to work from home. Abrupt and comprehensive, the workplace disruption caused by COVID-19 left managers in charge of a remote workforce for the first time in their careers. The shutdown of schools only added to the disruption for employees with […]
Read More… from More Managers See Benefits of Flexible Working Arrangements
In November 2020, the advocacy group Women in Banking and Finance launched a four-year research program, entitled Accelerating Change Together, to address gender and diversity issues in the financial and professional services sectors. WIBF commissioned the London School of Economics The Inclusion Initiative, led by LSE Prof. Grace Lordan, to conduct research on its behalf. […]
Read More… from Diversity-Friendly Work Approaches in the Post-Pandemic Workplace
Effective communication among members of a team or organization is key to the success of a group. Fast and direct face-to-face communication would appear to be the ideal method of communication. A study based on police emergency calls, however, reveals the complexities of communication—and why choosing the best modes of communication may not be as […]
Few people in their careers have avoided the scourge of time-consuming, unproductive meetings. For Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School and Tijs Besieux of the consultancy Leadership Footprint, unproductive meetings are a symptom of a broader problem: unproductive conversations. In many ways, the success of organizations hinge on the quality of the conversations within them. […]
Read More… from Leading Conversations: Productive and Unproductive Voice
Artificial Intelligence is both appreciated and feared: appreciated for the benefits it offers in terms of speed, accuracy and consistency; feared because many believe those benefits can render many human employees obsolete—a fear summarized in the familiar phrase, “Machines will take our jobs.” Studies show that such fears, leading to employee resistance and suspicion, will […]
Read More… from Onboarding AI to Gain Employee Trust and Acceptance
Corporate strategy rarely offers a clear and unified directive for the company’s functions and business units. Instead, companies often have competing sets of corporate strategies. In a study based on the product development activities of a large food company, researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Auckland demonstrate that strategic alignment challenges can […]
Read More… from How to Align Conflicting Corporate Strategies to Functions
Triadic relationships are common in the workplace. For example, two employees, Sharon and Mark, may share negative feelings about a third employee, Kathy; Kathy, in return, has negative feelings about both Sharon and Mark. An alternative triad involving these individuals is that Sharon and Mark have completely different feelings about Kathy: Sharon is a clear […]
Read More… from Unbalanced Relationships Hurt Performance, But Don’t Stick Around
A new study shows how impactful customer contact can be in terms of employee engagement and organizational results. According to the study, contact with customers elicits the feeling in employees that they are working to help others, that their job is not just a task in a vacuum with no connection to the rest of […]
Read More… from How More Customer Contact Creates a More Energetic, Motivated and United Workforce
