How Dr. Michael Housman Got Interested in Workforce Science

We've all had jobs that we really like and jobs that we don't. So it comes as no surprise to most individuals that employee satisfaction and engagement have been linked empirically to employee longevity and performance. Simply put: when we're happier with our work, we are better employees and everyone - from our co-workers to our supervisors to our employers - benefits. The key to workforce science is determining what factors can facilitate high levels of employee engagement and then optimizing them in order to produce the best workforce possible.

In this video insight, Dr. Housman talks about his own work experiences growing up and identifies a single job that had a formative impact on his career trajectory. He discovered that a meaningful job with a positive work environment and co-workers that he genuinely liked ultimately made his job a fun experience that he looked forward to every day. He became a workforce scientist in part because he wanted to try quantify that impact empirically and then use those findings to give others a similar experience.