Research: How Family Motivates People to Do Their Best Work

Harvard Business Review

Tennis star Serena Williams recently unveiled her next endeavor after leaving the courts behind: her new brand, Wyn Beauty. Like the decision to retire from tennis to focus on family, Williams’ choice to focus on beauty is a family affair. As Williams put it: “Motherhood has allowed me to look at beauty through the eyes of my daughter, Olympia. We’re always experimenting with makeup together, and I think about how these moments will be part of both of our beauty journeys… I also hope my daughters see how many different passions I have—from tennis to beauty—and learn that they can lead dynamic careers and lives across their many interests.”

To Retain Employees, Support Their Passions Outside Work

Harvard Business Review

As the Great Resignation continues, leaders continue to struggle with how to recruit and retain the best talent. What do talented workers most want out of their jobs? Is it remote work and autonomy? Better pay and health coverage? The chance to work with a diverse team and make a positive impact in the lives of others?

How to (Actually) Save Time When You're Working Remotely

Harvard Business Review

While the widespread shift to remote work hasn’t been without its challenges, it does offer a major silver lining: For many of us, commuting has become a thing of the past. In the United States alone, eliminating the daily commute has saved workers around 89 million hours each week — equivalent to time savings of more than 44.5 million full workdays since the pandemic began! These numbers suggest that working remotely could be a deus ex machina for reclaiming one of our most precious and limited resources: time.

Leaders, Don't be Afraid to Talk About Your Fears and Anxieties

Harvard Business Review

“I realize my boundaries are blurred, but I don’t know how to handle everything on my plate. There is a lot to do and a lot to take care of … The team looks for so much in terms of guidance, direction, energy, ideas, structure … I feel like I am carrying the weight of it all.” We all struggle with stress, anxiety, and other difficult emotions. But it can be tough to figure out what to do with these feelings, especially if we’re the ones who are supposed to be leading and supporting others. What’s the best way for a leader to handle their own emotional struggles at work?

Your Job Doesn't Have to Be Your Passion

Harvard Business Review

The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted many of us to re-consider our career paths. In the past year, we’ve heard from our students, time and again: “The pandemic has given me time to think, and I’ve come to realize that I want to pursue work that I’m passionate about. How do I go about doing that?” Their curiosity comes amid a growing body of research highlighting the benefits of pursuing your passion at work, including higher job performance, job satisfaction, and career earnings.

How Common is Unethical Behavior in U.S. Organizations?

Harvard Business Review

Unethical behavior is not unique to a time or place and it happens in organizations of all types and across industries: The U.S. Army and Central Intelligence Agency personnel was humiliating prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Volkswagen managers cheated on emission standards inspections, and Wells Fargo recently reached a $3 billion settlement after employees opened millions of accounts without customer consent. In scandals like these, the conversation often turns to individual “bad apples,” but the real culprit is more often the climate of the organizations where unethical behavior happens.

Reclaim Your Commute

Harvard Business Review

Every day, millions of people around the world face long commutes to work. In the United States alone, approximately 25 million workers spend more than 90 minutes each day getting to and from their jobs, and about 600,000 “mega-commuters” travel at least 90 minutes each way, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the United Kingdom, the average round-trip commute takes 54 minutes (up from 45 minutes in 2003), and in most of the world’s major cities, from Milan to Manila, it’s over an hour.

The Acceleration Trap

Harvard Business Review

Faced with intense market pressures, corporations often take on more than they can handle: They increase the number and speed of their activities, raise performance goals, shorten innovation cycles, and introduce new management technologies or organizational systems. For a while, they succeed brilliantly, but too often the CEO tries to make this furious pace the new normal. What began as an exceptional burst of achievement becomes chronic overloading, with dire consequences. Not only does the frenetic pace sap employee motivation, but the company’s focus is scattered in various directions, which can confuse customers and threaten the brand.