Is There A Science To Creating A Great Workplace?
Inc.|June 2019

There have never been more theories spun about what produces happier, more productive workers. BetterUp Labs is using some actual science to get to the bottom of it.

Leigh Buchanan
Is There A Science To Creating A Great Workplace?

In April, I was a lab rat. For three consecutive days, I jumped at any chance to perform “acts of kindness” for my co-workers. My good deeds included helping one colleague polish an article, picking up some administrative work from my boss, and buying cookies for an IT guy. Every evening, I filed reports on these acts. Before, during, and after the three days, I answered questions about my mood and my levels of stress, lone liness, and job satisfaction. For this remote worker, who temporarily camped out in the office for the assignment, the outcomes were significant: My sense of “organizational citizenship”—voluntary behaviors that benefit a company—rose by 50 percent.

The experiment I participated in was a truncated version of research being conducted at the University of California, Riverside, on social connections. With work increasingly decentralized and remote, studies show that loneliness is degrading performance and retention. Behavioral scientists want to know how different kinds of interactions affect things like the sense of belonging and feelings of isolation. How important is face-to-face? Which has greater impact: more frequent social interactions or the 95% nature of those interactions?

Typically, for an experiment like this, researchers would enlist a small of HR leaders group of freshmen in need of some extra say burnout is cash. The results would be published hurting retention. in peer-reviewed journals dense with footnotes and citations, often trapped behind a paywall.

This story is from the June 2019 edition of Inc..

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June 2019 edition of Inc..

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM INC.View All
7 Ideas : Sheila Johnson
Inc.

7 Ideas : Sheila Johnson

The iconic founder of BET and Salamander Collection draws inspiration from basketball courts and symphony halls.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
What's Eating Steve Ells? What Steve Ells is Eating
Inc.

What's Eating Steve Ells? What Steve Ells is Eating

The founder of Chipotle wants to shake up the restaurant industry again, this time with robot kitchens and plant-based food.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
5 Team Player
Inc.

5 Team Player

How Stephen Curry, the NBA’s greatest shooter ever, assembled an all-star business team that wins on social mission as much as money.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
Regionals BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE INC. 5000
Inc.

Regionals BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE INC. 5000

We're a nation of competitors. Always have been-from the sharp-elbowed scramble for land unleashed by the Homestead Act to the improbable televised spectacle that is the American Cornhole League.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
The Cult of the Entrepreneur and How to Avoid It
Inc.

The Cult of the Entrepreneur and How to Avoid It

Imperious, infallible, and fawned over by employees and customers: Don't fall for it. You can succeed without being an asshole.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2024
Insta-Worthy RetailEverything, Everywhere, All at Once
Inc.

Insta-Worthy RetailEverything, Everywhere, All at Once

How the designer behind some of today’s buzziest businesses lands in-person experiences that are too good not to gram.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2024
Sallie Krawcheck
Inc.

Sallie Krawcheck

On battling burnout, insomnia, and the loneliness of being a WFH CEO.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia Is Betting on a New Wave of Design-Led Startups
Inc.

Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia Is Betting on a New Wave of Design-Led Startups

The former chief product officer of Airbnb helps set the vision for Veeraj Chugh’s high-end webcam startup, Opal Camera.

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2024
Be Cool. Or Not
Inc.

Be Cool. Or Not

How the creators of one of the most influential brands of the past decade learned that cool is in the eye of the beholder.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024
Yes, You Can Break Free of Your Brand
Inc.

Yes, You Can Break Free of Your Brand

People change. Interests evolve. The Cupcake Queen learned that firsthand.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 2024