What can your employees' LinkedIn and Glassdoor activity tell you about a company's prospects? More than you might think. From competition for top talent to out-of-sync business prospects, these platforms offer valuable insights — but are leaders paying attention? Assistant professor Nan Li joins Executive Summary to unpack what employees are really signaling and why companies must start listening.

Show notes

[0:00] Are you listening to what your employees are and aren’t telling you about your company’s prospects?

[0:29] Meet Nan Li, an assistant professor of accounting at the Rotman School of Management who studies human capital – that is employees – and its impact on company performance.

[1:46] Big changes are coming to the reporting standards world. Starting in 2027, companies in the U.S. will have to disclose how much of their expense line items (think R&D, administration, marketing) is spent on compensation.

[3:22] This news makes Nan and other researchers excited, since it’s a goldmine of insights.

[4:00] The changes are long overdue. While once a company’s output and profits were driven by things like machinery and widgets – so that was a primary focus on reports; as we shift into a knowledge economy, employees are becoming the biggest asset.

[5:11] What are peer firms, and why does it matter when it comes to talent pools?

[5:30] LinkedIn is changing how we define peer firms.

[7:13] Why is it important to know that, says, a car company isn’t just competing against other car manufacturers for talent?

[8:29] Glassdoor reviews, specifically “employee business outlook,” is predictive of firm performance. A bad employee outlook will likely mean a bad earnings report down the line.

[9:46] So why aren’t company leaders and financial analysts paying attention to social media as a source of information?

[11:36] Certain types of labour costs are directly tied to future sales growth. More money into R&D translates into greater profit down the line, while fixed costs like administration can make it easy to grow in good times, but dampen growth in hard times, Nan’s research finds.

[13:34] Employees certainly pay attention to company earning calls, and adjust their own outlook on a company accordingly. So perhaps it’s time employers start doing the same.

[15:11] “All the information there is public. So as a manager or analyst, you can just sign on to Glassdoor, write your own review about your company. And there are some academics and also practitioners already noticed or recognize that we are kind of falling behind.” That’s because employees aren’t just workers; they’re insiders. They are on the ground seeing how your company is really performing. So maybe it’s time leaders start treating employees not just as assets, but as one of their most valuable sources of insight.

The push to return to the office has sparked backlash — employees felt trusted to work remotely, so why take that control away? But what role does control play in mitigating or causing stress? And when is autonomy a bad thing? Professor Jia Lin Xie joined the Executive Summary to unpack how job demands, individual traits and culture shape our experience at work, and how to determine if complete control will be empowering or stress-inducing.

Show notes

[0:00] Meet professor Jia Lin Xie, an expert in job design, stress and employee well being. She’s in the middle of research exploring attitudes towards return to office.

[0:25] The pandemic gave employees control and autonomy over their work, and now many employees feel that control is being taken away by the RTO request. It turns out, once given, removing control can be detrimental. But should it always be given?

[1:26] We’re working in a “boundaryless” world, where technology enables us to be always connected.

[1:56] Research shows boundarylessness can boost job satisfaction, but it also contributes to emotional exhaustion and stress.

[3:35] Those who struggle with boundarylessness might blame their person-environment (P-E) fit.

[4:23] What happens when you have a “good” versus “bad” P-E fit? (Hint: it’s burnout!)

[4:48] Job demands — whether physical, cognitive, or emotional — can make or break your workplace experience.

[6:24] How does having control offset the risks of stressful job demands?

[8:35] Jia Lin questioned the widely held theory that control is always a buffer to job demand stress.

[10:08] Control isn’t always a good thing; things that affect your control include your abilities to do a task…

[11:41] …your attribution style…

[11:59] … and even your cultural background can impact its effectiveness at buffering stress. Take the difference between American and Hong Kong bank tellers.

[14:20] So if you’re struggling with control and autonomy, and think it’s causing you stress, you have to reflect on why that is.

[16:11] So, how can you tell if having more control at work will help or hurt you? Jia Lin has some questions you can ask yourself.

[18:26] The takeaway? Control isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s about self-awareness, personal preferences, and the right support system.

We’ve been thinking about traffic all wrong. Sitting in congestion costs local economies billions in lost productivity, and governments invest heavily in easing the gridlock. But what if we’re solving the wrong problem? Associate Professor Victor Couture joins The Executive Summary to challenge conventional wisdom on city transportation networks — and explain why accessibility and density might be worth the slowdown.

Show notes

[0:00] Not only does sitting in traffic suck, it has an economic impact, which cities and governments try to blunt through traffic mitigation strategies.

[1:38] Meet Victor Couture, an expert on urban issues such as housing, gentrification and transportation.

[3:04] In 2023, Victor and colleagues released a paper benchmarking the fastest and slowest cities in the world.

[4:20] What makes a city fast versus slow?

[6:41] Flint, Michigan, in the U.S. earns the distinction as the world’s fastest city, but it’s not a blueprint for other cities to model.

[7:22] When it comes to moving people around a city, what is the ultimate goal of a city, and why isn’t it speed?

[8:38] What is the transportation network?

[9:07] What is accessibility in terms of transportation networks?

[10:46] When is speed via cars a good option?

[11:26] How does density affect productivity?

[11:40] Reducing congestion isn’t going to magically make a city more economically vibrant or affordable.

[12:12] Toronto is a case study for the density versus traffic speed debate. Victor’s research shows that the city is, on average, getting slower despite traffic mitigation strategies.

[13:32] So what about that tunnel under highway 401?

[14:41] Should the city rip out newly installed bike lanes?

[15:44] So what is the purpose of a trip?

[16:19] “For 1,000s of years, cities have been about bringing people into closer proximity. They've been about facilitating the flows of goods, the flows of people, the flows of ideas and the purpose of urban policy makers should be to facilitate those flows and create infrastructure and create institutions that let people realize those benefits of cities, that let people meet easily. That's the goal of a transportation network.”