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Work can have powerful effects on workers’ well-being—and those effects can be positive or negative. This collection of links highlights some of the research and analysis on work and well-being that has been conducted in recent years by scholars affiliated with the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) and their colleagues at other universities.
I. Workplace Conditions and Worker Well-Being
- Listening to Frontline Workers by Christine Thielman. Spectrum, Spring 2025.
This article in the Spring 2025 issue of the MIT publication Spectrum focuses on several key findings of a recent study in e-commerce warehouses that was led by MIT Sloan Professor Erin L. Kelly, who is Co-Director of IWER. The study found that introducing workplace health and well-being committees where employees could voice ideas and concerns reduced turnover and had positive short-term effects on workers’ mental health. - “Increasing Workplace Flexibility Associated With Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease,” Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, November 8, 2023.
This brief article highlights a study, coauthored by IWER’s Erin Kelly, that found that a work redesign initiative that gave employees greater scheduling flexibility and supervisor support reduced the cardiometabolic risk of some higher-risk employees. - “Organisational- and Group-Level Workplace Interventions and Their Effect on Multiple Domains of Worker Well-Being: A Systematic Review,” by Kimberly Fox, Sydney T. Johnson, Lisa F. Berkman, Marjaana Sianoja, Yenee Soh, Laura D. Kubzansky & Erin L. Kelly. Work & Stress 36, no. 1 (2022): 30-59. The authors of this article reviewed 83 studies that involved workplace interventions with effects on worker well-being. They found that strategies that aim to improve working conditions have the potential to improve worker well-being. In particular, they write, “interventions involving increased control and opportunities for workers’ voice and participation more reliably improve worker well-being, suggesting these components are critical drivers of well-being."
- “Work Redesign for the 21st Century: Promising Strategies for Enhancing Worker Well-Being,” by Meg Lovejoy, Erin L. Kelly, Laura D. Kubzansky, and Lisa F. Berkman. American Journal of Public Health 111, no. 10 (October 1, 2021): 1787-1795.
The authors draw on research on work design to propose a model that involves three strategies to improve workplace well-being: increasing workers’ schedule control and voice on the job; moderating job demands; and enhancing workplace social relations. - Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What We Can Do About It by Erin L. Kelly and Phyllis Moen. 2020. Princeton University Press. (Paperback with new forward, 2021.)
In their award-winning book, Erin L. Kelly and her coauthor Phyllis Moen discuss the intensification of contemporary white-collar work in the era of “always-on” technology – and a work redesign experiment in a corporate setting that increased employee satisfaction and reduced turnover.
- When Good Jobs Go Bad, Interview with Erin L. Kelly by Martha E. Mangelsdorf.
This 2019 interview gives a quick introduction to some of the research featured in the book Overload. - “Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network,” by Phyllis Moen, Erin L. Kelly, Wen Fan, Shi-Rong Lee, David Almeida, Ellen Ernst Kossek, and Orfeu M. Buxton. American Sociological Review 81, no. 1 (2016): 134-164.
A workplace program designed to foster greater employee control over their work schedules and greater support from their supervisors for their personal lives was found to lower employee burnout, feelings of stress, and psychological distress and to increase job satisfaction. There were few such benefits, however, for employees surveyed after a company merger was announced. - More Research on Workplace Well-Being by Erin L. Kelly
Over the years, Kelly has written dozens of scholarly articles related to workplace well-being, with a particular emphasis on the effects of initiatives to redesign work to reduce conflict between employees’ personal and work lives. You can learn more about Kelly’s extensive body of research on this topic here.
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II. Workplace Well-Being: Resources for Managers
- Work Design for Health Employer Toolkit
This free online toolkit, created in 2021 and updated and expanded in 2024, maps how employers can create work environments that foster worker health and well-being. The toolkit was developed by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the MIT Sloan School of Management, and it draws on the three strategies outlined in the “Work Redesign for the 21st Century” journal article mentioned above. - George Ward, who earned his PhD from MIT Sloan in the IWER program in 2022, focused his doctoral research on well-being and work. Ward, who is now an incoming assistant professor at INSEAD, is the coauthor of a new book with Jan Emanuel de Neve that is a good resource for managers interested in learning more about the overall topic of workplace well-being. The book is called “Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters: The Science Behind Employee Happiness and Organizational Performance.”
- Ward is also one of the authors of "Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity?", an article published in the journal Management Science in 2023. The article describes research in a call center that found that employees were more productive in sales when they were feeling happier.
- “Companies Need to Confront How Work Conditions Affect the Well-Being of Their Employees,” by Erin L. Kelly. Fast Company, January 13, 2022.
In this column, Kelly explains the limitations of corporate wellness programs. What companies really need to do, she argues, is recognize that working conditions have a significant impact on employee health—and redesign work to better foster health and well-being. - 7 Strategies to Improve Your Employees’ Health and Well-Being, by Erin L. Kelly, Lisa F. Berkman, Laura D. Kubzansky, and Meg Lovejoy. Harvard Business Review, Oct. 12, 2021.
This short article offers practical, research-based insights for redesigning work to improve worker well-being. - Fixing the Overload Problem at Work, by Erin L. Kelly and Phyllis Moen. MIT Sloan Management Review 61, no. 4 (Summer 2020).
In this article for executives, Kelly and Moen explain their research into the phenomenon of employee overload— and how managers can redesign work to address the problem.
III. Hybrid and Remote Work and Well-Being
The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in an era of greater experimentation with remote work in white-collar occupations, as well as with hybrid work schedules that blend time in the office with remote work. IWER-affiliated researchers and their colleagues have explored various effects of working from home and hybrid work on employee well-being.
- “Working from Home and Worker Wellbeing: New Evidence from Germany,” by Duanyi Yang, Erin L. Kelly, Laura D. Kubzansky, and Lisa F. Berkman. ILR Review 76, no. 3 (May 2023): 504- 531.
This study found that doing some work from home during regular business hours—in other words, working at home in lieu of commuting to an office—was linked to employees having greater job satisfaction and higher levels of well-being, but also with somewhat greater conflict between work and family life than strictly in-office jobs. In contrast, work that is done during off-hours at home in addition to work already performed at a company site was associated with largely negative effects for employees, especially women. (Note: A short summary of this article’s findings is also available.) - “Why Neglecting Work Relationships Can Sabotage Innovation and Productivity, According to Research,” by Constance N. Hadley, Erin L. Kelly, and Katherine C. Kellogg. Fast Company, March 5, 2023.
This article offers research-based advice on managing hybrid teams effectively, including taking into account potential pitfalls such as loneliness at work and burnout.
IV. Worker Voice and Well-Being
Recent research has found that a bigger “voice gap” at work is linked to lower job satisfaction and lower employee well-being, as well as with greater interest in quitting and greater burnout. To read more about this research see:
- “Does Voice Gap Influence Workers’ Job Attitudes and Well-Being? Measuring Voice as a Dimension of Job Quality,” by Yaminette Díaz-Linhart, Thomas Kochan, Arrow Minster, Dongwoo Park, and Duanyi Yang. British Journal of Industrial Relations, December 2024.
- "Measuring the Connection Between Worker Voice and Job Quality,” by Martha Mangelsdorf.
This short summary highlights some key points from the British Journal of Industrial Relations article on the link between worker voice and employee satisfaction and well-being.
V. Micro-Inequities and Micro-Affirmations: Seemingly Small Interactions Can Affect Well-Being in the Workplace
Mary P. Rowe
Mary Rowe, an Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at MIT Sloan and a member of the IWER faculty, previously served for decades as a pioneering organizational ombuds at MIT. In her ombuds work, Rowe saw how seemingly small inequities—which she dubbed micro-inequities—in the workplace can contribute to structural inequality for members of disadvantaged groups. She then also began exploring the possibilities of small acts of affirmation, which she gave the name micro-affirmations, to counter micro-inequities and unconscious bias.
Read a collection of Rowe’s articles on micro-inequities and micro-affirmations.