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New research on labor from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including labor standards and unions.
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Work from Anywhere or Co-locate? Autonomy versus Learning Effects at the United States Patent Office

by Prithwiraj Choudhury, Cirrus Foroughi, and Barbara Larson

Managers often ask whether worker productivity rises or falls with work-from-anywhere (WFA) policies. This study of a real firm presents robust econometric evidence that WFA regimes can have positive effects on net worker output, especially for experienced hires working interdependently. For new hires, however, colocation is often needed to facilitate their learning.

Make Your Employees Feel Psychologically Safe

by Martha Lagace

To do their best work, people need to feel secure and safe in their workplace. In a new book, Amy C. Edmondson details how companies can develop psychological safety. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Vodafone’s Innovative Approach to Advanced Technologies

William Kerr discusses how telecom giant Vodafone incorporated big data, automation, and artificial intelligence to improve productivity while ensuring new opportunities were created for the next generation of workers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

by Dina Gerdeman

Two recent US Supreme Court cases demonstrate that religion in the workplace issues are increasing. How can managers be prepared? It starts with the right attitude, says Derek van Bever. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Free trade and free markets are great concepts but are often corrupted by politics, globalization, and the relative power of consumers and workers, our readers suggest. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Open Office Revolution Has Gone Too Far

by Christian Camerota

When Ethan Bernstein used wearable technology to track workers around their open office, he discovered many who were trying to avoid collaboration rather than engage in it. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Kids of Working Moms Grow into Happy Adults

by Dina Gerdeman

In earlier research, Kathleen McGinn and colleagues discovered that adult kids of working moms are high achievers at work. Now it turns out they are happy, too. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

by Grace Gu and Feng Zhu

Intermediaries such as brokers, distributors, and agents all face a risk of disintermediation, when two sides circumvent the intermediary and thus avoid the intermediary’s fees. This study of a large online freelance marketplace finds that enhanced user trust increases this risk, alongside other contributing factors like being geographically near one another, having easily divisible jobs, and clients themselves having high ratings.

Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction

by Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert, and Christopher Stanton

This study of the effects of compensation cuts in a large sales organization provides a unique lens for analyzing the link between compensation schemes, worker performance, and turnover.

Sponsorship Programs Could Actually Widen the Gender Gap

by Carmen Nobel

Companies increasingly provide sponsors to help women get ahead. But certain aspects of sponsorship programs can hinder women instead, according to experimental research by Nancy R. Baldiga and Katherine B. Coffman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Experience Markets: An Application to Outsourcing and Hiring

by Christopher T. Stanton and Catherine Thomas

Online labor platforms are like experience markets. Sellers vary in their fit with individual buyers’ needs while buyers new to the market are uncertain about their own value for what sellers offer. This analysis shows that most potential new employers find the market far less valuable to them than wage differences would suggest.

Why You Are Unhappy at Work

by Sean Silverthorne

Sometimes the deck is stacked against you at work. Learn more about how you can overcome toxic co-workers, paycheck blues, and a job set up for failure. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

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

by Joseph Fuller

Employers are guilty of "degree inflation," requiring lofty academic bona fides for jobs that don't really need them. Joseph Fuller says the practice is hurting American competitiveness. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Organizational Structures and the Improvement of Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Legalization, Participation, and Economic Incentives

by Yanhua Z. Bird, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel

Suppliers face increasing pressure from the institutional environment as well as demands from buyers to improve working conditions. This study analyzes the internal organizational dynamics of more than 3,000 supplier firms in 55 countries. Findings call for looking beyond the symbolism of organizational structures and attending to how they can be linked with real implementation and improvement.

Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows

by John Horton, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton

Digital labor markets aiInternet-based platforms connecting workers worldwide with companies seeking to have tasks completed. This paper describes the markets, evaluates their rise and global span, and reviews academic studies of how they function. It includes cases to suggest the range of ways in which digital capabilities extend access to talent over long distances.

Survival of the Fittest: The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit

by Dara Lee Luca and Michael Luca

This study examines the impact of minimum wage increases on restaurant closures in the San Francisco Bay Area, using data from 2008 through 2016 from the review platform Yelp. The study demonstrates that higher minimum wages increase closure rates among lower-rated restaurants, while higher-rated restaurants are largely insulated from changes.

Is the Next Jobs Crisis Just Ahead?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP A looming service sector jobs crisis would dwarf anything we’ve seen in manufacturing, many of Jim Heskett's readers agree. But what can be done about it? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Microstructure of Work: How Unexpected Breaks Let You Rest, but Not Lose Focus

by Pradeep Pendem, Paul Green, Bradley R. Staats, and Francesca Gino

Work breaks are usually considered as a necessary evil—inevitable but nonproductive. This study shows that properly structured breaks maintaining employee attention can actually yield post-break improvements in performance.

Why Don't More People Get Flu Shots at Work?

by Roberta Holland

The frontline battle station in the just-started influenza season is the workplace flu vaccine clinic. The problem: fewer than half of employees take advantage of them. John Beshears discusses why location makes a difference. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Master the One-on-One Meeting

by Julia B. Austin

The one-on-one meeting between supervisor and staff is an invaluable tool for managing, but requires much attention to detail. Julia B. Austin explains best practices for getting the most out of the 1:1. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.