S22E13 - HBR Minute Rewind - The Culture of Overwork Hurts Everyone, with Robin Ely

In this "HBR Minute Rewind" HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhwestover/) explores Robin Ely's recent HBR video, "The Culture of Overwork Hurts Everyone" (Originally aired September 27, 2020). See the full video and all of the details here: https://youtu.be/jjRWaMCWs44. Overview of video: "The standard work/family narrative is an outdated excuse for what holds women back. Ask people to explain why women remain so dramatically underrepresented in the senior ranks of most companies, and you will hear from the vast majority a lament that goes something like this: High-level jobs require extremely long hours, women’s devotion to family makes it impossible to put in those hours, and so their careers inevitably suffer. Not so, say the authors, who spent 18 months working with a global consulting firm that wanted to know why it had so few women in positions of power. Although virtually every employee the authors interviewed related a form of the standard explanation, the firm’s data told a different story. Women weren’t being held back because of trouble balancing work and family; men, too, suffered from that problem and nevertheless advanced. Women were held back because they were encouraged to take accommodations, such as going part-time and shifting to internally facing roles, which derailed their careers. The real culprit in women’s stalled advancement, the authors conclude, is a general culture of overwork that hurts both sexes and locks gender inequality in place. To solve this problem, they argue, we must reconsider what we’re willing to allow the workplace to demand of all employees." Robin Ely (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinjely/) is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She conducts research on race and gender relations in organizations with a focus on leadership, identity, and organizational culture change. Examples of her past research include studies of men and masculinity on offshore oil platforms; the impact of racial diversity on retail bank performance; and how organizational narratives about gender, work, and family limit both men’s and women’s ability to thrive personally and professionally. Her work is published in academic journals, such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review, and, for practitioners, in Harvard Business Review. Professor Ely is presently conducting research on organizational culture change aimed at reducing workplace inequality, strategies for women leaders to navigate gender stereotypes, and HBS alumni career and life decisions.

Check out Dr. Westover's new book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/bluerthanindigo.

Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/leadershipalchemy.

Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/hci-magazine.

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