12-11-2024
In partnership with the Purdue HR Case Competition and Conference, the Center for Working Well (CWW) recently presented research from its inaugural Working Well Research Awards.
In line with the center’s mission to be at the forefront of challenges facing modern workforces and employees’ desire to “work well,” the 2024 award winners shared research centered on helping organizations best support the work and nonwork lives of employees. These presentations centered on the challenges employees face both in crafting healthier relationships with work and work-life balance, to finding time outside of work to craft meaningful relationships.
In her presentation “Employee Push Back Against ‘Always-on’ Work Cultures,” Daniels School Assistant Professor of Management Kate Zipay explored how the rise of accessible technology has created a work culture in which employees are expected to be available outside of regular hours, leading to productivity issues, burnout, and a lack of work-life balance. She shared how proactive pushbacks, or subtle, self-initiated acts of resistance — such as setting boundaries on sending and responding to after-hours emails — challenge these norms and promote healthier work boundaries.
Jinfeng “Phoenix” Chen, a PhD candidate in organizational behavior and human resources at the Daniels School, presented her research on “Love in the Digital Age: Impact of Dating Apps on Employee Well-being and Performance.” With more than 30% of U.S. adults reporting being single, a significant number of young professionals are seeking romantic relationships through online dating applications. Chen and her team sought to understand whether the support individuals receive through their dating app experiences positively influence how employees experience their work. Results showed that finding desirable relationships through dating apps use can reduce emotional exhaustion at work, whereas finding undesirable relationships through dating apps use can undermine employees’ task performance.
In the final presentation, Dr. Leanne Nieforth, an assistant professor of veterinary medicine at Purdue, shared her study “Pawsitive Impact: Boosting Employee Well-being with Pets.” Pets provide multiple benefits to their owners including benefits to mental, physical, and social health. The presentation focused on the current research surrounding the influence that pets may have on employee wellbeing in the workplace, specifically highlighting outcomes from a long-standing bring your dog to work program.
To bring the scientific findings to life, CWW Director Allie Gabriel helped facilitate a panel discussion with four distinguished organizational leaders who have partnered with the conference: AJ Brow (White Lodging); Pramukh Jeyathilak (TalentLign); Sarah Ponsler (Wabash); and Sabrina Wilson (dormakaba). The panel covered ways that their own organizations are addressing working-well challenges, and shared their reactions to the research.
To further bridge connections between science and practice, idea generators from the CWW helped facilitate conversation among attendees around novel working well policy-related challenges that organizations are currently facing, allowing for conversations between members of the Center for Working Well, HR partners, and student conference attendees.
“At the CWW, we care not only about conducting cutting-edge research, but making sure the research gets into the hands of those who can use it daily,” says Gabriel. “The Working Well Research Awards event, with the support of Professor Brian Chupp and the Purdue HR Case Competition and Conference, represents a great step in helping further the CWW mission and celebrating new ideas around what it means to work well.”
