Jim Harter, Ph.D.

About Jim

Conducts research on the relationship between human potential and organizational outcomes

Jim is the primary researcher and author of the first large-scale, multi-organization study to investigate the relationship between work-unit employee engagement and business results, including profitability, productivity, turnover, customer engagement, safety and health. Updated periodically, this study currently covers more than 112,000 business units and includes 2.7 million employees in 276 organizations across 54 industries and in 96 countries. He is the author of Wall Street Journal bestsellers Culture Shock, released in 2023, and Wellbeing at Work, released in 2021. He is also the author of No. 1 Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller It's the Manager, released in 2019. Jim's work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and Time magazine.

Jim also authored the New York Times bestseller 12: The Elements of Great Managing and the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements. His research is also featured in the bestselling management classic First, Break All the Rules.

Jim has authored or coauthored more than 1,000 research studies on employee engagement and talent and on topics in applied psychology and wellbeing. His specialties include psychological measurement and estimating the economic impact of management initiatives.