People

The students and faculty associated with IWER carry on a fifty-year MIT tradition of innovative research and thought-provoking teaching on the changing world of work and employment.

Dating back to Douglas McGregor’s work in the 1940s, research here is at the forefront of work and employment theory. It not only chronicles workplace practices, it also drives change — toward a more effective and more humane workplace.

Today, IWER students and faculty members continue to shape the dialogue over the future of work and employment. Their work is ever more important, as globalization raises questions about the practices of international corporations and the U.S. employment system faces a crossroads equivalent to that of the 1930s.

Professor Richard Locke plays a major role in the Globalization, Economic Development and Standards Project, which aims to identify a more virtuous way for international firms to conduct business in developing countries.