Ideas Made to Matter
MIT Sloan expert insights: 4 books from 2020
From how recommendation engines work to how misinformation spreads on social media, here are four books from MIT Sloan that made some sense of 2020.
Faculty
Erin L. Kelly is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management and CoDirector in the Institute for Work and Employment Research. She is also Faculty Director of the the Good Companies, Good Jobs Initiative.
Kelly’s research has been published in many top sociology, management, and interdisciplinary journals and twice recognized with the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award. Her new book with Phyllis Moen, Overload: How Good Jobs Went Bad and What to Do About It, was published by Princeton University Press in March 2020.
Kelly investigates the implications of workplace policies and management practices for firms, workers, and families with a joint focus on equity, wellbeing, and organizational performance. Previous research has examined scheduling and work-family supports, family leaves, harassment policies, and diversity initiatives in a variety of organizations and industries. Kelly’s early research contributed to our understanding of which diversity policies and programs seem to change organizations and which are primarily “window dressing.”
As part of the Work, Family, and Health Network, Kelly evaluated innovative approaches to work redesign with group-randomized trials in professional/technical and health care workforces. A current project with MIT Sloan colleagues investigates how schedules and staffing strategies in e-commerce warehouses impact workers’ experiences, productivity, and turnover. Kelly is also interested in workers’ voice on the job, and strategies for engaging workers and learning together in different work contexts. Ongoing projects explore different facets of wellbeing and engagement in low- and moderate-wage jobs, including warehouse work, with the goal of identifying promising practices and designing evaluation projects that advance both scholarly and organizational goals.
Kelly is a sociologist and received her PhD from Princeton University and her BA from Rice University. She previously taught at the University of Minnesota.
Kelly, Erin L. and Phyllis Moen. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2020.
O'Donnell, Emily M., Lisa F. Berkman, Erin L. Kelly, Leslie B. Hammer, Jessica Marden, and Orfeu M. Buxton. Community, Work and Family Vol. 22, No. 2 (2019): 203-228.
Fan, Wen, Phyllis Moen, Erin Kelly, Leslie Hammer, and Lisa F. Berkman. Journal of Vocational Behavior Vol. 110, No. A (2019): 102-116.
Kochan, Thomas A., Duanyi Yang, William T. Kimball, and Erin L. Kelly. Industrial and Labor Relations Review Vol. 72, No. 1 (2019): 3-38. Download Preprint.
Shafer, Emily Fitzgibbons, Erin L. Kelly, Orfeu Buxton, and Lisa F. Berkman. Community, Work and Family Vol. 21, No. 4 (2018): 410-428.
Bray, Jeremy W., Jesse M. Hinde, David J. Kaiser, Michael J. Mills, Georgia T. Karuntzos, Katie R. Genadek, Erin L. Kelly, Ellen E. Kossek, and David A. Hurtado. American Journal of Health Promotion Vol. 32, No. 4 (2018): 963-970.
From how recommendation engines work to how misinformation spreads on social media, here are four books from MIT Sloan that made some sense of 2020.
A dual-agenda work redesign requires managers to step back from how they’ve managed in the past and give employees more control over their work.
Source: BBC | Worklife
Research by Erin Kelly shows companies and managers can play a key role in creating a better environment for workers.
Source: Fast Company
“When employees have a sense of choice and control over when, how, and where they do their work, it's really valuable for their well-being."
Source: The Wall Street Journal
There is still a stigma in asking for flexibility. Some bosses may view it as an indication that you're less committed to the job,.
Source: The New York Times
"...what do you think is going to happen if that person quits?...You're going to actually be stretched further.”