This live event took place on May 2, 2024. Access to the on-demand videos are available with registration.
Empower an AI-fueled workforce.
Technology is given undue agency — it shifts, it disrupts, it eliminates. But it doesn’t act, not really. And it certainly doesn’t act alone. Like any other tool, tech requires people to get things done.
Work/24: The Human Factor is a free virtual summit all about harnessing the power of people and technology — together. Featuring experts in artificial intelligence, change management, workplace culture, and human resources, it’ll help you and your team thrive in a tech-dominated, AI-fueled world of work.
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What You’ll Get:
On-demand, shareable access to all sessions.
Downloadable synopsis of each session with key takeaways.
Free download of MIT SMR article pack on the future of work.
Elizabeth Heichler, Editorial Director, Magazine, MIT SMR
10:05 A.M.
The Leadership We Need Now
James R. (Jim) Detert, the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business
Why do so many efforts focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), employee engagement, and the quality of work fail to make meaningful progress? In large part, it’s because power resists change and thus — intentionally or unintentionally — limits the issues that get discussed to safer topics, and the changes that get made to shorter-term or optics-focused solutions. This session will explain how leaders interested in creating positive, systemic change must surface their organizations’ deep rules, discuss the undiscussables, and commit to the hard work it takes to increase employees’ commitment levels, contributions, and well-being.
10:35 A.M.
Four Ways AI Is Changing Workforce Ecosystems
Elizabeth J. Altman, Associate Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts Lowell
David Kiron, Editorial Director, Research, MIT SMR
AI’s effects are not limited to automation and worker displacement: Artificial intelligence can augment human performance, expand access to decent jobs, or undermine worker autonomy and equity. In this session, we’ll discuss AI’s influence on designing work, supplying workers, conducting work, and measuring work and workers. Through the lens of workforce ecosystems, we offer a comprehensive look at how AI affects the practice of management.
11:05 A.M.
Reinventing the Organization With Generative AI
Ethan Mollick, Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor of Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI and the One Useful Thing newsletter
Join us for a conversation with Wharton professor Ethan Mollick on the practical ways in which generative AI technologies can be deployed by workers, managers, and organizations to unlock productivity and new possibilities. What sorts of applications are generative AI ready for, what kinds of experiments should organizations be running, and what precautions should they take as workers use it to aid their jobs? In this Q&A, hosted by MIT SMR features editor Kaushik Viswanath, we’ll discuss how to get the most out of AI as a coworker.
11:35 A.M.
15-Minute Break
11:45 A.M.
Presenting Sponsor
11:55 A.M.
Smarter Strategies to Beat Employee Burnout
Melissa Swift, Vice President, Workforce and Organizational Change Acceleration, Capgemini Invent; and author of Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace
Burnout continues to plague organizations as both leaders and employees grapple with the impact of decades of work intensification and the realities of hybrid work. A host of superficial tactics have proved unsuccessful. In this session, we’ll address surprising evidence-based strategies to conquer burnout once and for all. Learn what you and your team can do to truly refresh and reenergize a tired working population.
12:25 p.M.
DEI Leadership: What It Takes to Achieve Real Change
Malia C. Lazu, Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management; Founder and CEO, The Lazu Group (The Urban Labs); and author of From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Corporate America doubled down on public pledges to support DEI after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, but it’s difficult to see where the promised changes have made an impact. Even organizations with the best intentions have struggled to create real change. To move from intention to impact requires changing traditions and culture in the face of pushback and resistance. In this session, you’ll learn new approaches to evolve systems that support a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
12:55 P.M.
10-Minute Break
1:05 P.M.
The Impact of Generative AI on Work
Peter Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Human Resources, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
How useful will large language models be in the workplaces of today and tomorrow? Despite their capabilities, LLMs are much more complicated to implement than we typically acknowledge, and many of the tasks that seem ideal for them can already be automated using other technologies. LLMs are just as likely to create new work as they are to take over existing jobs. Learn how organizations’ reliance on humans will change but won’t diminish in the age of generative AI.
1:35 P.M.
How to Create Good Jobs and Thrive as a Business
Zeynep Ton, Professor of the Practice, MIT Sloan School of Management; cofounder, Good Jobs Institute; and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay & Meaning to Everyone’s Work
Companies that suffer from poor customer service, high employee turnover, and low productivity often have a broken management system that includes insufficient people investment and poor work design. This talk will highlight companies that profitably fixed these deficiencies to create a competitive advantage. Such results require a shift in thinking. Learn what that entails, from relying on “rigorous” analyses of cause and effect to recognizing interconnectedness between people, their work, and their ability to serve the customer.
2:05 P.M.
Closing Remarks
Abbie Lundberg, Editor in Chief, MIT SMR
Elizabeth Heichler, Editorial Director, Magazine, MIT SMR
Elizabeth Altman is an associate professor of management at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, research affiliate at MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, and guest editor for the Future of the Workforce at MIT Sloan Management Review. She has been a visiting professor at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) and visiting scholar at Harvard Business School.
Altman’s research focuses on strategy, innovation, platforms, ecosystems, future of work, and workforce ecosystems. Her research has appeared in Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Academy of Management Annals, Journal of Management Studies, and other international journals. Prior to academia, Altman was a Motorola vice president.
Elizabeth J. Altman
Associate Professor of Management, Manning School of Business
The HCL Digital Experience Platform can help you engage your employees with powerful personalized content and applications that increase collaboration, job satisfaction, and retention rates. See how a B2E DXP can accelerate your employee experiences.
Abbie Lundberg, Editor in Chief, MIT SMR Elizabeth Heichler, Editorial Director, Magazine, MIT SMR
The Leadership We Need Now
James R. (Jim) Detert, the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business
AI’s effects are not limited to automation and worker displacement: Artificial intelligence can augment human performance, expand access to decent jobs, or undermine worker autonomy and equity. In this session, we’ll discuss AI’s influence on designing work, supplying workers, conducting work, and measuring work and workers. Through the lens of workforce ecosystems, we offer a comprehensive look at how AI affects the practice of management.
Elizabeth J. Altman, Associate Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts Lowell David Kiron, Editorial Director, Research, MIT SMR
AI’s effects are not limited to automation and worker displacement: Artificial intelligence can augment human performance, expand access to decent jobs, or undermine worker autonomy and equity. In this session, we’ll discuss AI’s influence on designing work, supplying workers, conducting work, and measuring work and workers. Through the lens of workforce ecosystems, we offer a comprehensive look at how AI affects the practice of management.
Ethan Mollick, Associate Professor of Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and author of Co-Intelligence: Living and Working With AI and the One Useful Thing newsletter
Join us for a conversation with Wharton professor Ethan Mollick on the practical ways in which generative AI technologies can be deployed by workers, managers, and organizations to unlock productivity and new possibilities. What sorts of applications are generative AI ready for, what kinds of experiments should organizations be running, and what precautions should they take as workers use it to aid their jobs? In this Q&A, hosted by MIT SMR features editor Kaushik Viswanath, we’ll discuss how to get the most out of AI as a coworker.
Smarter Strategies to Beat Employee Burnout
Melissa Swift, Vice President, Workforce and Organizational Change Acceleration, Capgemini Invent; and author of Work Here Now: Think Like a Human and Build a Powerhouse Workplace
Burnout continues to plague organizations as both leaders and employees grapple with the impact of decades of work intensification and the realities of hybrid work. A host of superficial tactics have proved unsuccessful. In this session, we’ll address surprising evidence-based strategies to conquer burnout once and for all. Learn what you and your team can do to truly refresh and reenergize a tired working population.
DEI Leadership: What It Takes to Achieve Real Change
Malia C. Lazu, Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management; Founder and CEO, The Lazu Group (The Urban Labs); and author of From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Corporate America doubled down on public pledges to support DEI after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, but it’s difficult to see where the promised changes have made an impact. Even organizations with the best intentions have struggled to create real change. To move from intention to impact requires changing traditions and culture in the face of pushback and resistance. In this session, you’ll learn new approaches to evolve systems that support a more inclusive and equitable workplace.
Peter Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Human Resources, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
How useful will large language models be in the workplaces of today and tomorrow? Despite their capabilities, LLMs are much more complicated to implement than we typically acknowledge, and many of the tasks that seem ideal for them can already be automated using other technologies. LLMs are just as likely to create new work as they are to take over existing jobs. Learn how organizations’ reliance on humans will change but won’t diminish in the age of generative AI.
Zeynep Ton, Professor of the Practice, MIT Sloan School of Management; cofounder, Good Jobs Institute; and author of The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, & Meaning to Everyone’s Work
Companies that suffer from poor customer service, high employee turnover, and low productivity often have a broken management system that includes insufficient people investment and poor work design. This talk will highlight companies that profitably fixed these deficiencies to create a competitive advantage. Such results require a shift in thinking. Learn what that entails, from relying on “rigorous” analyses of cause and effect to recognizing interconnectedness between people, their work, and their ability to serve the customer.
