Jobs and Positions →
- 03 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Accounting Rookie Job Market: A Practitioner’s Guide
Aimed at accounting PhD students but potentially useful to other new academics and job seekers, this first-person essay offers suggestions for the dissertation process and subsequent job search. The writer tries to relieve some of the stress and confusion that inevitably comes with completing a PhD and finding a first academic job.
- 24 May 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows
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.
- 01 May 2017
- Research & Ideas
Bad At Your Job? Maybe It's the Job’s Fault
A poorly designed job can work against even the most dedicated employee, setting the person up to fail. Robert Simons explains how to gauge whether an employee's position offers the right mix of organizational support and responsibility. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Feb 2017
- Research & Ideas
The Right Way to Cry in Front of Your Boss
Crying at work can be more than embarrassing—it can hurt your career. Elizabeth Baily Wolf discusses a technique to reframe distress as passion. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Feb 2017
- What Do You Think?
Is the Next Jobs Crisis Just Ahead?
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; 0 Comments.
- 17 Feb 2016
- Research & Ideas
Man vs. Machine: Which Makes Better Hires?
New research by Danielle Li and colleagues finds that computers make better hiring decisions than managers when filling simpler jobs. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Feb 2016
- Op-Ed
The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills
Upgrading domestic skills is far more relevant to the future of American workers than potential job losses through expanded trade with other Pacific-rim nations, say Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Nov 2015
- Research & Ideas
These Employers Pay Higher Salaries than Necessary
Some employers using online freelance marketplaces for the first time pay more than they have to for workers. Why? An information imbalance that job seekers can exploit, as explained in research by professor Christopher T. Stanton. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Sep 2015
- Research & Ideas
Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns
In the new case study “Honeywell and the Great Recession,” Sandra Sucher and Susan Winterberg explore employer tradeoffs when a downturn hits: conducting layoffs vs. orchestrating furloughs. Plus: Video interviews with Honeywell CEO Dave Cote. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jul 2013
- Research & Ideas
Why Unqualified Candidates Get Hired Anyway
Why do businesses evaluate candidates solely on past job performance, failing to consider the job's difficulty? Why do university admissions officers focus on high GPAs, discounting influence of easy grading standards? Francesca Gino and colleagues investigate the phenomenon of the "fundamental attribution error." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Mar 2012
- What Do You Think?
Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?
Summing Up: The manufacturing field is key to a strong economy, but a renewed focus on the industry will not necessarily lead to significant job growth, Jim Heskett's readers say. What do you think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Why Manufacturing Matters
After decades of outsourcing, America's ability to innovate and create high-tech products essential for future prosperity is on the decline, argue professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih. Is it too late to get it back? From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Apr 2010
- What Do You Think?
Why Are Fewer and Fewer U.S. Employees Satisfied With Their Jobs?
This month's column yielded many hypotheses to explain why U.S. employees' job satisfaction is at a 23-year low, says HBS professor Jim Heskett. Readers also offered antidotes to job malaise. (Online forum now closed. New forum begins May 5.) Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Jul 2009
- Research & Ideas
Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work
"The core challenge for everyone who performs necessary evils comes from having to do two seemingly contradictory things at once: be compassionate and be direct," say Joshua D. Margolis of Harvard Business School and Andrew L. Molinsky of Brandeis University International Business School. Their research sheds light on best practices—typically overlooked—for the well-being of those who carry out these emotionally difficult tasks. Q&A Key concepts include: Most managers who conduct layoffs feel a mix of emotions that may catch them by surprise: sympathy, sadness, guilt, shame, anxiety, and perhaps anger. Best practice for managers includes understanding yourself and recognizing your limitations. Recognize ahead of time the emotional cocktail that you will likely experience when performing a layoff, say the researchers. Companies should focus not only on getting the task done and on ensuring the well-being of victims, but also on the well-being of those who perform the layoff. Conduct training beforehand; have pairs or teams perform the tasks together; provide a good physical environment in a nonpublic, quiet area of the organization; and later allow those who carried out the layoffs to decompress and debrief. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Dec 2008
- Research & Ideas
Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs
Cutting the wrong employees can be counterproductive for retailers, according to research from Zeynep Ton. One suggestion: Pay special attention to staff who handle mundane tasks such as stocking and labeling. Your customers do. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Dec 2006
- What Do You Think?
How Important Is Quality of Labor? And How Is It Achieved?
A new book by Gregory Clark identifies "labor quality" as the major enticement for capital flows that lead to economic prosperity. By defining labor quality in terms of discipline and attitudes toward work, this argument minimizes the long-term threat of outsourcing to developed economies. By understanding labor quality, can we better confront anxieties about outsourcing and immigration? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Apr 2006
- What Do You Think?
Has Globalization Reached Its Peak?
A new book argues that globalization has led corporations to outsource too much of their work and, more important, their intellectual capital. What with the increasing fluidity of labor markets, is it all too much for global managers to handle? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Jul 2005
- Research & Ideas
Should You Outsource Your Marketing?
Few companies own all the marketing expertise they need, especially of the left-brain, analytic variety. Professor Gail McGovern outlines the pros and cons of turning over your marketing activities to outsiders. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
'Be Yourself (Within Reason)' and Other Job Search Survival Tips
In some professions, successful job hunting depends as much on a healthy body and cleared mind as it does on a well-performed interview, says Ethan Rouen. Open for comment; 0 Comments.