Topic: Productivity

Workers stretching at their desk Research Brief / Workplace

Do Corporate Wellness Programs Boost Worker Productivity?

Industrial laundry gains 4% output; better health and better feelings toward employer could account for increase

Two males looking at a computer screen Research Brief / Leadership

Quantifying Team Leadership Approaches: To Do, or to Direct Others?

In a field often ruled by personality, a rational model is proposed

Illustration of a man reaching for cherries on top of a pile of math symbols Feature / Productivity

Picked All the Low-Hanging Fruit? Finding Opportunity in Mathematical Models

After management does its best, new analytical approaches take effectiveness up another notch

Illustration of workers pedaling to power a computer Research Brief / Sustainability

Green Initiatives — By Themselves — Won’t Boost Productivity

Environmentally conscious companies that also instill teamwork and quality enjoy higher output

LA Dodger Manny Ramirez taking a swing Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

Not All Second Chances Are Good Ones

Hengchen Dai finds that hitting the reset button can help those who have recently struggled, but erodes the motivation and execution of top performers

Laptop with a calendar Research Brief / Time Management

You’ll Be Interrupted — Why Not Plan for It?

A team of researchers weighs contingent planning against traditional time management

Illustration of characters debating at a long table Feature / Organizational Culture

Status among Team Members: Conflict and Productivity

Groups with unsettled hierarchies can benefit from disagreements that establish a pecking order

Building in ruble while emergency workers recover a body Research Brief / Manufacturing

How Fashion Brands Can Best Ensure Worker Safety in Developing Nations

Collective action, rather than each brand working alone, appears more effective and costs less

Forklift in a warehouse Research Brief / Manufacturing

When Manufacturers Commence Exporting, They Become More Efficient

Looking at costs, in a sample of 5,000 plants in Chile, remarkable productivity gains occur

Workers in a garment factory Research Brief / Workplace

Motivating Workers with a Sacred Symbol: Promise and Peril

A Chinese garment factory tidied up after golden coins were displayed

An illustration of people with center character wearing a cape Feature / Workplace

Collaboration’s Downside: Individuals Take Too Much Credit

Not just the office jerk. Even good colleagues overclaim. Managing around this destructive dynamic isn’t straightforward

Workers in a garment factory sewing Research Brief / Supply Chain

How Brands Can Anticipate Unauthorized Subcontracting of Apparel Manufacturing

A model predicts with 80% accuracy which orders get handed off

Industrial looms Research Brief / Productivity

Amid Technology Boom, Where Are Productivity Gains?

19th-century French cotton mills suggest halting, uneven progress

Employee checks on industrial equipment in a plant Feature / Management

A Model Could Help Food Processors Operate More Efficiently

Managing production with the declining potency of a catalyst

Illustration of doctors and nurses with outlines of missing people Feature / Health Care

Private Equity Boosts Nursing Home Staffing — When Compelled by Competition

But in uncompetitive markets, the financial owners cut staff

Chinese women working at a garment factory Research Brief / Productivity

Giving Workers a Say Boosts Productivity

Output at a Chinese garment factory rose 10%