The Best of This Week
The week’s must-reads for managing in the digital age, curated by the MIT SMR editors.
Topics
Weekly Recap
How to Get More From Crowdsourcing Platforms
Organizations can boost responses to problem statements on crowdsourcing platforms by engaging contributors’ imaginations without limiting their creativity. Based on recent research, the authors suggest five techniques to pique contributor interest and boost engagement.
Building Better Work Models for the Next Normal
The steep drop in fourth-quarter productivity in 2020 signals that the past year of remote work is taking a psychological toll on employees. To support and retain talent in the face of these workforce challenges — especially as many businesses begin to consider a shift back to in-person working — leaders should revisit work policies and their implementation.
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The Prolonged Chip Shortage Won’t Be Solved Anytime Soon
A prolonged chip shortage has hampered production of countless products, from PCs and servers to home appliances and autos. As they attempt to increase supply, semiconductor companies are shifting manufacturing processes, swapping over production lines, and even auditing customer orders to prevent hoarding. But there are no quick fixes, and shortages will likely continue into next year.
Three Ways to Migrate Data Faster
You could spend forever perfecting your data for migration, but following these three principles will help your organization migrate data more effectively: Start with a minimum set of viable data, identify data to leave behind, and weigh speed against perfection.
Boosted Recognition for Caregivers on LinkedIn
LinkedIn recently announced it would allow users to identify themselves as stay-at-home parents, a development that some expect may level the playing field for employment. These changes could potentially normalize the work of caregivers in a way that recognizes the unique abilities — like organization, budgeting, and, of course, multitasking — that make caregivers an asset to workplaces.
What Else We’re Reading This Week
- New research looks at the benefits and challenges associated with creating and managing a workforce ecosystem (Source: MIT SMR)
- In an excerpt of their new book, Remote, Inc., MIT Sloan’s Robert C. Pozen and tech writer Alexandra Samuel offer guidance for connecting with remote employees, focusing on four key managerial tools (Source: MIT Sloan)
- A research-driven look at the Black American work experience in charts reveals profound inequities at a glance (Source: McKinsey Quarterly)
- A new shade of white paint may have some (literally) cool implications for the climate (Source: Earther)
Quote of the Week:
“It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing.”
— Adam Grant, professor of management and psychology at Wharton, in “There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing”