Why customer-facing companies have happier workers
It’s possible the Keebler Elves aren’t as happy at work as they seem. Or SpongeBob SquarePants’ dour fast-food colleague Squidward might be a little cheerier than he lets on. New research from Olin Business School shows that people working in customer-facing companies, such as retailers (or cartoon burger joints), tend to be happier at work, while workers for companies further removed — manufacturing, for example (or treehouse cookie factories) — tend to be less happy.
Keep the customer satisfied — especially in competitive markets
Success isn’t always measured in dollars and cents. So, does a company’s non-financial performance measures reveal anything about the future bottom line? That’s the question a professor at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis addressed in a recent study. The finding: there’s definitely a link — but only when the competition is stiff. More…