Featuring scholarly and practitioner insights from HR and people leaders, industry experts, and researchers.

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Sarah Adler about supporting mental health in the modern workplace. Dr. Sarah Adler is CEO/Founder of Wave Life, a mental health platform that pairs affordable and quality coaching with engaging and immersive skill-building for Gen Z. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and former hedge fund analyst obsessed with improving access to high-quality mental healthcare. Dr. Adler is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University. She sits on the advisory board of Redesign Health, and the Board of Directors of Empathic, using AI to improve empathic communication at scale. Previously, Sarah was CCO at a national behavioral health start-up, and Founding partner of Peninsula Behavioral Health a group practice providing evidence based-care to the San Francisco Bay Area.

This video discusses strategies for constructively addressing microaggressions, which are subtle verbal, nonverbal, or environmental slights that communicate hostile or derogatory messages to marginalized groups in the workplace. Microaggressions undermine diversity and inclusion efforts and have negative consequences for targets' well-being and companies' productivity and legal liability. The video defines common types of microaggressions and explains why they are important to address. It then outlines factors targets should consider when deciding whether and how to respond, and provides research-backed strategies such as respectfully educating the aggressor, describing personal impact, inquiring about intent, addressing systemic issues, setting boundaries, or removing oneself from the situation. Examples are given of how different strategies could be applied in healthcare, technology, education, non-profit and government contexts. The conclusion emphasizes that addressing microaggressions requires both individual interpersonal skills and organizational support through policies and training.

This video examines the underutilized leadership potential of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace. Drawing from research in neurodiversity, leadership, and organizational behavior, it explores the inherent competencies commonly possessed by those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurologically diverse conditions that can make them well-suited for senior roles when provided the proper developmental support. Strategies are proposed for nurturing neurodivergent talents into executive strengths through unbiased assessments, cultivating self-awareness, customized coaching, mentorship, and outcome-based promotion and evaluation. Real-world cases are also presented of accomplished neurodivergent leaders achieving success in technology and finance by capitalizing on their divergent cognitive gifts. The video argues neurodivergent traits represent untapped brainpower when organizations focus on performance over traits, make proactive environmental adjustments, and view neurodiversity as a priority for inclusion rather than assimilation alone. Unlocking neurodivergent potential represents a pathway to transformational results for progressive firms.

Abstract: This article explores the major trends transforming the future of work through technological advancements like AI and robotics, globalization enabling distributed teams, and changing workforce demographics as younger generations and diversity alter the makeup of companies, necessitating that up to 375 million workers may need to switch jobs or acquire new skills by 2030. In response, the future of work demands new approaches to leadership that move beyond vision and problem-solving skills to emphasize soft abilities like engagement, empowerment, facilitation, and expertise in digital transformation, diversity/inclusion, lifelong learning, and virtual team management to match contemporary flat, adaptive organizational structures. Progressive companies are evolving leadership by leveraging digital tools to personalized learning and community-building, requiring that leaders effectively engage dispersed teams using technology while also fostering relationships, with a focus on developing global/cultural competence and championing inclusion, diversity, and cultures that prioritize trust, well-being, belonging and continuous development to cultivate workforce adaptability amid ongoing disruption.  

Abstract: The business landscape has undergone immense changes in recent decades due to factors like globalization, technological disruption, shifting workforce and customer demographics, and economic turbulence, creating a profoundly uncertain and volatile environment that requires constant adaptation for companies to avoid obsolescence. However, by drawing from research on complex adaptive systems and uncertainty management, the article provides strategies for cultivating agile, resilient cultures focused on embracing uncertainty and continuous adaptation to thrive amid unpredictability. Leaders must foster agility through empowering experimentation, risk-taking, and iterative learning from failures to build resilience emphasizing adaptability, interdependence, diversity, communication, and flexibility, while embracing ambiguity recognizes leaders cannot predict the future and respond to new opportunities. Continuous learning and adaptation are also critical using flexible structures, short feedback loops, and scenario planning to identify weaknesses. The article then outlines an adaptive leadership framework to assess an organization's agility, resilience, and change readiness, proposing specific actions to decentralize decision-making, accelerate innovation, strengthen networks, communicate purpose, and conduct regular assessments/reviews, demonstrated through a banking example of innovative digital platforms, startup culture, customer empowerment, and experimentation enabling thriving amid turbulence. By developing cultures focused on continuous transformation over control and adaptability, companies gain strategic flexibility to reconfigure successfully amid unpredictability.

This practitioner-oriented research brief examines why and how companies can strategically track employee lifetime value (ELV) metrics. ELV refers to the total financial contributions and indirect cost savings an employee provides over their career both within and beyond their tenure at an organization. After outlining the scholarly foundation demonstrating ELV as a key driver of competitive advantage, productivity, revenue and firm performance, the brief delves into methods for quantifying ELV. Two primary components are contribution value from direct compensation and indirect support roles, as well as retention value from avoided replacement expenses and future referral potential. Examples are given of calculating ELV through estimating average tenure, forecasting contribution streams, incorporating various rates and modeling knowledge depreciation. The brief then analyzes how leveraging robust ELV insights supports strategic decisions around talent deployment, succession planning, training investments, and evaluating alignment of strategies to sustain ELV. Finally, real-world case studies from the technology and financial services industries demonstrate multi-billion dollar impacts achieved by companies that proactively track and maximize employee lifetime value through workforce planning and positive engagement of employee networks.

This article explores how organizations can design more meaningful feedback practices to boost employee engagement. Drawing on academic literature linking feedback and engagement, key drivers of the connection are identified, such as fulfilling psychological needs for competence and purpose. The brief then advocates shifting feedback focus from retrospective evaluations to forward-looking development centered on learning, growth opportunities, and stronger role alignment. Practical application examples across industries including healthcare, education, technology, and manufacturing demonstrate embedding feedback within organizational purpose and contextual priorities. Additional implementation strategies are offered, such as framing managers as coaches, emphasizing continual check-ins over annual reviews, rewarding continuous learning, and soliciting worker feedback. The conclusion asserts that by reframing routine feedback interactions to stimulate motivation, skills, and purpose-driven work, companies can transform this tool into a key lever for fostering enduring employee commitment, dedication, and fulfillment.

Abstract: Having a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace has become an important priority for many organizations today, however, diversity alone does not guarantee inclusion or equity as unconscious biases like affinity bias can undermine efforts if left unchecked. Affinity bias refers to the tendency to form stronger connections and have more positive feelings towards others similar in attributes, stemming from cognitive processes that view similarity as trustworthy, commonly impacting opportunities in organizations. It persists due to forces like homophily naturally gravitating towards similarity, unconscious biases operating below awareness, lack of diversity allowing similarity as default, conformity pressures, and more apprehension evaluating dissimilar others. If unaddressed, negative impacts include less diverse pipelines and leadership over time, inequitable experiences and outcomes, lower innovation and problem-solving, and loss of talent. Research shows affinity bias can be overcome through intentional efforts across organizational levels including designing fair structures and systems like instituting consistent talent criteria, unconscious bias training, diverse interview panels and anonymous screening, as well as enhancing diverse social networks through mentoring, sponsorship, and networking programs, providing ongoing DEI learning delivered to all employees on topics related to identity, privilege and inclusion, and modeling inclusive behaviors through KPIs and goals linked to diversity accountability in performance reviews, challenging exclusionary behaviors, and appointing C-level oversight. A case study demonstrates how one firm systematically addressed affinity bias threatening diversity goals through training, anonymous assessments, consultant evaluation, a new sponsorship program, and ongoing learning with leadership commitment and reporting that narrowed representation gaps and improved inclusion within two years. Leaders must recognize affinity bias and commit to fair processes and empowering connections to build truly inclusive cultures reflecting society.