think-piece
The Reward Trap
Paying people for behaviors they were doing for free makes them do it less, not more, once the pay stops. Decades of research on this. We keep building programs that ignore it.
Tareef Jafferi
A researcher and product builder dedicated to improving organizational outcomes. His work began during his time at MIT, where his research in people analytics revealed insights about how to improve employee wellbeing, happiness, and performance.
behavior-hack
The Shutdown Ritual
Work that keeps intruding on your evening isn't about the work. It's about the missing plan for it. A three-minute closing ritual releases the loop.
research-drop
The Planning Fallacy
Knowing you underestimate how long things take doesn't stop you from doing it. The only known fix isn't better planning. It's using someone else's past, not your own.
think-piece
The High-Wellbeing Paradox
In our data, employees in the top quartile of wellbeing report more daily stressors than the bottom quartile. Not fewer. The standard playbook (remove stress, raise wellbeing) breaks on this finding.
behavior-hack
The Friction Audit
Most workplace programs don't fail on the idea. They fail on the friction. A 20-second extra step cuts participation roughly in half. Here's the audit that finds them.
research-drop
The Thank-You Multiplier
Being thanked doubles how likely you are to help the next person who asks. The effect passes through strangers. It's not the words. It's what they signal.
think-piece
Your EAP Is a Waste of Money
Employee Assistance Programs have a 2-10% utilization rate. Not because employees don't need help, but because EAPs were designed for a version of stigma that no longer explains the problem.
behavior-hack
The Yes, And Rule
Improv comedians never say "no, but." They say "yes, and." When teams adopt this single rule for brainstorming, idea volume increases and the ideas that survive are more original.
research-drop
The Checklist Effect
When Atul Gawande introduced a simple surgical checklist, complications dropped 36% and deaths dropped 47%. The mechanism isn't information. It's forcing a pause in autopilot.
think-piece
When Autonomy Backfires
Self-determination theory says autonomy drives motivation. But research shows that without clarity on direction and boundaries, autonomy creates anxiety, decision paralysis, and worse performance.
behavior-hack
The Fresh Start Effect
People are 33% more likely to start a new habit on a Monday, the first of the month, or after a birthday. Temporal landmarks create a psychological "reset" that separates the old self from the new one.
research-drop
The Cognitive Load Tax
Judges grant parole 65% of the time in the morning and nearly 0% by late afternoon. The same decision fatigue is draining your team's best thinking before lunch.