Stranded travellers should keep their cool
When 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike, more than 100,000 passengers were left stranded. For many of those affected, the experience has been an overwhelming one. For stranded passengers, the Air Canada strike combines three powerful stressors: uncertainty, lack of control and crowding, writes Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour Jean-Nicolas Reyt in The Conversation.
Companies are bringing employees back to the office, but over time, the trend could reverse
Large Canadian companies such as Rogers, RBC and BMO recently announced their employees will be required to spend more time in the office moving forward. Many employees aren’t happy about it at all. “Research tells us that employees are more productive when they can work the way they want to,” said Prof. Jean-Nicolas Reyt in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Les faits d’abord.
McGill Desautels professors and lecturers recognized at Faculty Awards
The McGill Desautels Faculty of Management acknowledges the vital contributions of research, teaching, service, and public engagement in inspiring future leaders. Through our annual Faculty Awards, we celebrate the exceptional achievements of our faculty members across various programs and disciplines. This year, we are proud to honour the following distinguished individuals:
Employees tend to own workplace successes, but blame external factors for failures
Nearly two-thirds of employees feel they’ve been ‘thrown under the bus’ by their colleagues—but an even higher number say they’ve never engaged in blame-shifting themselves. “The axe forgets, but the tree remembers,” says Jean-Nicolas Reyt, an Associate Professor of Organizational Management at McGill Desautels.
The power of purpose in employee motivation
Motivating employees isn’t just about perks or pay—it’s about helping them see the bigger picture. According to Jean-Nicolas Reyt, associate professor of organizational behaviour at McGill Desautels, employees who understand the broader impact of their work are often more engaged. “A manager can see the broader picture,” Reyt explains.
Changes in leadership can affect an entire organization
Changes at the top of an organization can have a ripple effect through its ranks—and Justin Trudeau’s resignation as leader of the Liberal Party is a case in point. An organization’s culture starts at the top, and the personality of its leader influences how decisions are made and how to get ahead, says Associate Professor Jean-Nicolas Reyt in an interview with Canadian HR Reporter.
Return to office won’t necessarily increase productivity
After a sudden shift to remote work in 2020, federal public servants have been required to be on site for 60 per cent of their working days since September 2024. Productivity was among its reasons for introducing the requirement, but that’s misguided, according to Jean-Nicolas Reyt, Associate Professor of Management at McGill Desautels.
People feel most productive at work during the heart of the workweek
Tuesday is the most productive day of the week—or at least it’s the day perceived to be the most productive, according to Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour Jean-Nicolas Reyt in an interview with Radio-Canada. Most individuals work from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to -5 p.m., and perceive Monday to be less productive because they are still catching up on their work from the previous week.
Remote work brought unfair performance metrics – and employees are gaming them
According to a survey by the Vancouver-based AI human resources firm Visier, more than four out of five workers have engaged in “fauxductivity” – performative work that makes them appear to be working more time than they actually are. The problem, however, isn’t the workers– it’s the way their performance is measured according to Jean-Nicolas Reyt, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour.
When wedding planning clashes with work commitments, communication is key
Weddings are planned many months–or even years–into the future, and that can clash with other aspects of the couple’s lives. When taking on a new job in the months leading up to such a major life event, it’s tricky to know when to tell your new employer that you’ll need time off in the first months of your tenure.
Companies seeking savings in employee wages might spend more in the long run
Inflation has stretched the budgets of individuals and companies alike, and some firms have sought to find savings in the wages they pay their employees. A recent report from the Robert Walters recruiting agency found that Canadian firms are increasingly hiring underqualified employees. But that can backfire, says Professor Jean-Nicolas Reyt in interview with Canadian HR Reporter.
Greece increases length of work week, bucking broader trends
While some countries contemplate shorter work weeks, Greece is heading in the opposite direction. Seeking to boost economic growth, the country recently passed a law allowing employers to implement a six-day work week, though the change is not mandatory. Greece faced a debt crisis in 2010, and its economy has long been among Europe’s laggards.
Top employees will gravitate to companies that implement four-day workweek as it becomes more common
Some of the Toronto companies that tested a four-day workweek are sticking with it, and cite higher productivity and better work-life balance as the reasons for the change. McGill Desautels Professor Jean-Nicolas Reyt thinks it will eventually become the norm, and companies that resist it risk losing talent. “The best employees will leave,” Reyt told Radio-Canada.
New federal union contract is an historic advance in for workers’ rights
The potential for office work to be performed remotely has been evident since the advent of email and the web, but for decades, most employers allowed only very limited remote work. The pandemic let that genie out of the bottle and finally granted employees what many had been advocating for in vain, writes Associate Professor in Organizational Behaviour Jean-Nicholas Reyt in an opinion piece for the Montreal Gazette.
McGill Desautels undergrads take 2nd at Baylor University’s Negotiation Competition
McGill Desautels undergraduate students Aaron Anandji (BCom’25) and Zacharie Faucillion (BCom’23), Co-Executive Directors of McGill Ventures, took second place at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business’ National Undergraduate Negotiation Competition (NUNC) this April.
