Brain for Business

We all have the same number of seconds, minutes, hours and days in a week, yet some people seem to be able to use the time available to them so much better than others. Perhaps they are just naturally good at managing their time, perhaps they are more organised, or perhaps they have simply spent more time analysing and planning what they are going to achieve in their day. However, as Professor Abb...

While bias and discrimination are far from new phenomena, in recent years we have all become much more aware of their meaning and impact. From me too to black lives matter and a whole range of other movements, there has in many ways been a global questioning of the role that bias, discrimination and the implicit associations that often underpin them can play in human interactions. To dig deep into...

Magical beliefs such as belief in luck and precognition are universal, yet the nature and extent to which such beliefs are embraced varies significantly across cultures. While not often considered, the implications of for cross-cultural engagement, whether for work, holidays or other reasons, are potentially quite significant and can have a much bigger impact on how we understand other people and...

When we look back on history, the industrial revolution in Britain seems likely an historical inevitability. Following on from the Scottish Enlightenment and the growth of Britannia as a global empire and trading power, surely the industrial revolution as we now know it was uniquely and distinctly British thing. But is this really the case? To discuss this and other questions we are joined by Dr A...

We have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic… perhaps we have had COVID ourselves, perhaps friends, family and loved ones have suffered. Yet how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on wellness and well -being in the workplace? And what does this mean for individuals and organisations? For this, our 50th episode, we speak to Professor Thomas Roulet of the University of Cambridge to explore the...

While we might assume that all psychopaths are serial killers, the reality is that they are just as likely to be “snakes in suits”, haunting the corridors of any workplace. But what are the key traits of psychopaths? What careers do they tend to pursue? And what should you do if you are afraid that your boss is a psychopath – or worse, that you might be one? To explore these and other questions fu...

While once we might have been reluctant to have hybrid meetings, the COVID-19 pandemic and varying return-to-work protocols means that they are almost inevitable. But how can we hybrid meetings work more effectively and be more engaging and productive? Joseph A. Allen is a Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Utah. Before he completed his doctorate (Ph. D.) in...

The question of why we forget history has never been more relevant – only a few short years ago almost nobody had heard of the so-called “Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918-1919. Yet with advent of COVID-19 we all became familiar with the history of that and other pandemics. But when we consider the forgetting of history, an even more important question emerges which has relevance for us all: why do we...

Regardless of whether we think of carrots or sticks, incentives influence and shape our behaviours. But what are incentives? Why are some incentives more important than others? And how can leaders and organisations make better use of incentives in their day-to-day work? Jason Murphy is an economist who has worked at the Australian Treasury, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Nauru, and has...

In a recent paper published in the journal Research Policy, Professor Louise Mors of Copenhagen Business School, together with Professor David Waguespack of the University of Maryland explore the collaboration process undertaken by research teams. In particular they consider situations where teams are geographically dispersed and the challenges of coordination they face. A key, intriguing finding:...

While organisations can in some circumstances benefit from “strong leaders”, their longer lasting impact is not always so beneficial. By considering politics and political parties, Eoin O’Malley and his colleague Despina Alexiadou of Strathclyde University examine how they strong leaders can ultimately end up undermining the very parties they lead. Eoin O'Malley is an Associate Professor in politi...

Boredom. Something we all experience, yet so rarely think about. In reality, boredom is a normal aspect of the human experience so it is vital to ask: What is boredom, why do we experience it, and what happens when we do? Dr. Erin Westgate is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Florida, where she studies boredom, interest, and why some thoughts are more engaging than others....

These days every organisation wants its teams to be more entrepreneurial and innovative. From holacracy to skunk-works and MBO to self-managing teams, a wide range of approaches have been tested over time. Yet what are the key variables that drive greater performance in entrepreneurial teams? In a recent paper published in the journal Organization Science, Professor Linus Dahlander and colleagues...

With the “Great Resignation” apparently upon us, more and more people are considering ways of re-calibrating and finding a new path. Yet how do we really know what it will be like to work for a potential employer? And when employers insist on strict non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements, what information can you really trust? In this episode of Brain for Business, Brain for Life we speak...

In a recent article Dr Nathan Kettlewell and colleagues explored the impact that life events can have on overall wellbeing. What is the impact of major positive life events? And equally what is the impact of not so positive life events? In Episode 40 of the Brain for Business, Brain for Life podcast we explore these and other issues related to understand the impact of events on our positive and af...

In a recent article in the online magazine Aeon, the renowned science writer, Philip Ball, considered the concept of imagination and coined the phrase “homo imaginatus”. Yet what really is imagination? How has it been perceived over the centuries? And what role does imagination play in human creativity? Philip is the author of many popular books on science, including works on the nature of water,...

In recent years we have perhaps seen a golden era of narcissistic leaders. Yet what is their real impact? And is being a narcissistic leader necessarily a bad thing? Jon Gruda is an Assistant Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Maynooth University in Ireland. He has previously held appointments at emlyon Business School (France) where he completed his Ph. D. in Management from 2012 to 2017, t...

If 20% of pregnancies result in miscarriage, why do we find it so hard to talk about it? In this episode of the Brain for Business, Brain for Life podcast we speak to Professor Kaylee Hackney. In recent research she and colleagues have explored the impact of the miscarriage on the workplace and the challenges faced by both women and their employers during what is inevitably a very difficult time f...

In a 2015 article, Professor Jack Goncalo and colleagues explored the impact of “political correctness” on creativity in work groups. At the time the findings – that political correctness is actually good for creativity - were so controversial that the article was rejected numerous times before finally being published in the leading journal in the field. So why – and how – is political correctness...

Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, remote working including working from home was in some cases a luxury and in others a case of organisational trial and error. Yet for many around the world, in March 2020 remote working became a necessity, imposed both by governments and employers. In a recent report published in the prestigious journal Nature Human Behaviour (https://www.nature.com/articles/s4...

The impact of bias on individual decision making has been widely explored, yet we actually do not know so much about how bias and discrimination happen in teams and groups. In this episode of Brain for Business, Brain for Life, behavioural economist Professor Vessela Daskalova of University College Dublin, tells us about her own experimental research into role of social identity and the “in-group/...

Policing organisations and the challenges they face are in many ways unique. So what are the implications for leadership and for those in leadership roles in policing? Dr Victoria Herrington is Director of Knowledge at the Australian Institute of Police Management in Sydney. Vicki has spent a career in applied, academic and neo-academic organisations across the UK and Australia and is an active re...

The menopause is a normal part of the human lifecycle for approximately 50% of the population, but all too often those experiencing the menopause are left unsupported by both their employers and society more broadly. Yet this should not be case: simple steps can help to make a huge difference for those experiencing this entirely natural and normal process. Jo Brewis is Professor of People and Orga...

Working long hours can, for some, be a badge of honour proving to themselves and the world how important and irreplaceable they really are. Yet the longer-term consequences and impacts of consistently working long hours are devastating for health and well-being. In this episode of the Brain for Business, Brain for Life podcast we talk to Dr Frank Pega of the World Health Organization (WHO) who out...

As societies begin the gradual return to office work after the worst of Covid has passed, what will be the impact on productivity of renewed commutes, travel and associated stress? In a recent article, Professor Wlad Rivkin and colleagues explored exactly this and challenged the assumption that a return to “normal” work will be beneficial. Dr. Wladislaw (Wlad) Rivkin is an Associate Professor in O...