Jon Jachimowicz

Jon Jachimowicz is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches the Leadership and Organizational Behavior course (LEAD) in the Required Curriculum.

He studies people's passion for work, viewing passion as an attribute that varies over time. As a result, employees can pursue, fall out of, and maintain their passion. In addition, passion dynamics unfold at the interpersonal level, manifesting in observable behaviors which are perceived by others who react to those who express passion. He also studies (economic) inequality, exploring how disparities in resources and opportunities are perceived, and how they influence individual's attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. He particularly focusses on how those with fewer resources/opportunities can be supported to attain more favorable long-term outcomes. In exploring both topics, he takes an interdisciplinary approach leveraging social psychology, sociology, economics, and organizational behavior, & conducts field experiments in collaboration with companies, local government, and NGOs.

Professor Jachimowicz received a Ph.D. from Columbia Business School, M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, & M.A. from the University of St Andrews. He was listed as a Poets & Quants 40 under 40 honoree and was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Columbia University - Columbia Business School (2014 — 2019)
• Master of Philosophy (MPhil) University of Cambridge (2013 — 2014)
• Master of Arts (MA) Hons University of St. Andrews (2009 — 2013)

PUBLICATIONS

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Erin L. Frey, Sandra Matz, Bertus Jeronimus, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Sharp Spikes of Poverty: Financial Scarcity Is Related to Higher Levels of Distress Intensity in Daily Life." (pdf) Social Psychological & Personality Science (forthcoming).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Andreas Wihler, and Adam D. Galinsky. "My Boss' Passion Matters as Much as My Own: The Interpersonal Dynamics of Passion Are a Critical Driver of Performance Evaluations." Journal of Organizational Behavior (forthcoming). (Pre-published online August 5, 2021.)

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "Energy Conservation Behaviour: Three Thumbs Up For Social Norms." Nature Energy 5, no. 11 (November 2020): 826–827.

• Gladstone, Joe J., Jon M. Jachimowicz, Adam Eric Greenberg, and Adam D. Galinsky. "Financial Shame Spirals: How Shame Intensifies Financial Hardship." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 167 (November 2021): 42–56.

• Anicich, Eric, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Merrick Osborne, and L. Taylor Phillips. "Structuring Local Environments to Avoid Diversity: Anxiety Drives Whites' Geographical and Institutional Self-Segregation Preferences." Art. 104117. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 95 (July 2021).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Ruo Mo, Adam Eric Greenberg, Bertus Jeronimus, and Ashley V. Whillans. "Income More Reliably Predicts Frequent Than Intense Happiness." Social Psychological & Personality Science 12, no. 7 (September 2021): 1294–1306.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Julia Lee Cunningham, Bradley Staats, Francesca Gino, and Jochen I. Menges. "Between Home and Work: Commuting as an Opportunity for Role Transitions." Organization Science 32, no. 1 (January–February 2021): 64–85.

• Götz, Friedrich M., Andrés Gvirtz, Adam D. Galinsky, and Jon M. Jachimowicz. "How Personality and Policy Predict Pandemic Behavior: Understanding Sheltering-in-Place in 55 Countries at the Onset of COVID-19." American Psychologist 76, no. 1 (January 2021): 39–49.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Barnabas Szaszi, Marcel Lukas, David Smerdon, Jaideep Prabhu, and Elke U. Weber. "Higher Economic Inequality Intensifies the Financial Hardship of People Living in Poverty by Fraying the Community Buffer." Special Issue on Racism in Action. Nature Human Behaviour 4, no. 7 (July 2020): 702–712.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Shannon Duncan, Elke U. Weber, and Eric J. Johnson. "When and Why Defaults Influence Decisions: A Meta-analysis of Default Effects." Behavioural Public Policy 3, no. 2 (November 2019): 159–186.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Joe J. Gladstone, Dan Berry, Charlotte L. Kirkdale, Tracey Thornley, and Adam D. Galinsky. "Making Medications Stick: Improving Medication Adherence by Highlighting the Personal Health Costs of Non-compliance." Behavioural Public Policy 5, no. 3 (July 2021): 396–416.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Christopher To, Shira Agasi, Stéphane Côté, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Gravitational Pull of Expressing Passion: When and How Expressing Passion Elicits Status Conferral and Support from Others." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 153 (July 2019): 41–62.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Oliver P. Hauser, Julia D. O'Brien, Erin Sherman, and Adam D. Galinsky. "The Critical Role of Second-order Normative Beliefs in Predicting Energy Conservation." Nature Human Behaviour 2, no. 10 (October 2018): 757–764.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Andreas Wihler, Erica R. Bailey, and Adam D. Galinsky. "Why Grit Requires Perseverance and Passion to Positively Predict Performance." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 40 (October 2, 2018): 9980–9985.

POPULAR ARTICLES

• Stein, Daniel, Nick Hobson, Jon M. Jachimowicz, and Ashley Whillans. "How Companies Can Improve Employee Engagement Right Now." (pdf) Harvard Business Review (website) (October 13, 2021).

• Anicich, Eric, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Merrick Osborne, and L. Taylor Phillips. "Design Physical and Digital Spaces to Foster Inclusion." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 11, 2021).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "Passion Meets Purpose: Do I Need to be Passionate about Work or My Job?" Headspace, June 5, 2021.

• Howe, Lauren C., Jon M. Jachimowicz, and Jochen I. Menges. "Your Job Doesn't Have to Be Your Passion." Harvard Business Review (website) (June 4, 2021).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., and Adam Eric Greenberg. "Lower Income Translates to Fewer Happy Experiences—Here Is How We Can Fix It." Character & Context (January 25, 2021).

• Davidai, Shai, Martin Day, Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, Oliver Hauser, Jon M. Jachimowicz, M. Usman Mirza, Nailya Ordabayeva, L. Taylor Phillips, Barnabas Szaszi, and Stephanie Tepper. "We Have a Rare Opportunity to Create a Stronger, More Equitable Society." Behavioral Scientist (June 1, 2020).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Shannon Duncan, Elke U. Weber, and Eric J. Johnson. "Defaults Are Not the Same by Default." Behavioral Scientist (April 16, 2019).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "3 Reasons It's So Hard to 'Follow Your Passion'." Harvard Business Review (website) (October 15, 2019).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Joyce He, and Julian Arango. "The Unexpected Benefits of Pursuing a Passion Outside of Work." Harvard Business Review (website) (November 19, 2019).

• Gino, Francesca, Bradley Staats, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Julia J. Lee, and Jochen I. Menges. "Reclaim Your Commute: Getting To and From Work Doesn't Have to be Soul Crushing." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 3 (May–June 2017): 149–153.

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "The Passion Paradox: A Conversation with Brad Stulberg." Behavioral Scientist (April 9, 2019).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Oliver P. Hauser, Julie O'Brien, Erin Sherman, and Adam D. Galinsky. "Research: People Use Less Energy When They Think Their Neighbors Care About the Environment." Harvard Business Review (website) (January 28, 2019).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "The Study Premortem: Why Publishing Null Results Is Only the First Step." Behavioral Scientist (October 16, 2018).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Sandra Matz, and Vyacheslav Polonski. "The Behavioral Scientist's Ethics Checklist." Behavioral Scientist (October 23, 2017).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., Elke U. Weber, and Jaideep C. Prabhu. "The Conditions that Help Poor People Make Better Decisions, According to New Research." Quartz (May 2, 2017).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "What to Do When Someone Angrily Challenges Your Data." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 5, 2017).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M. "A 5-Step Process to Get More Out of Your Organization's Data." Harvard Business Review (website) (March 16, 2017).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., and Sam McNerney. "The Problem with Following Your Passion." Washington Post, On Leadership (November 6, 2015).

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., and Sam McNerney. "Should Governments Nudge Us to Make Good Choices?" Scientific American Mind (September 1, 2015).

WORKING PAPERS

• Cormier, Grace, and Jon M. Jachimowicz. "Quiet Fires Fail to Impress: Introverted Expressions of Passion Receive Less Social Worth." (pdf) Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-027, August 2020.

• Tan, Josephine, and Jon M. Jachimowicz. "The Pursuit of Passion Propagates Privilege." (pdf) Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-136, June 2020.

• Fetzer, Thiemo, Marc Witte, Lucas Hensel, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Johannes Haushofer, Andriy Ivchenko, Stefano Caria, Elena Reutskaja, Christopher Roth, Stefano Fiorin, Margarita Gomez, Gordon Kraft-Todd, Friedrich M. Goetz, and Erez Yoeli. "Global Behaviors and Perceptions in the COVID-19 Pandemic." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-111, April 2020.

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Ruggeri, Kai, Jascha Achterberg, Jana Berkessel, Alessandra Luna-Navarro, Jon M. Jachimowicz, and A.V. Whillans. "Behavioral Insights for the Workplace." Chap. 9 in Behavioral Insights for Public Policy: Concepts and Cases, edited by Kai Ruggeri. New York: Routledge, 2018.

• Ruggeri, Kai, Jana Berkessel, Jascha Achterberg, Gerhard M. Prinz, Alessandra Luna-Navarro, Jon M. Jachimowicz, and A.V. Whillans. "Work and Workplace." Chap. 9 in Behavioral Insights for Public Policy: Concepts and Cases, edited by Kai Ruggeri, 156–173. New York: Routledge, 2018.

CASES AND TEACHING MATERIALS

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., and Thomas J. DeLong. "Kwame Owusu-Kesse at the Harlem Children's Zone." Harvard Business School Case 422-020, September 2021. (Revised October 2021.)

• Jachimowicz, Jon M., and Francesca Gino. "Sarah Robb O'Hagan: The Rocky Road of Passion." Harvard Business School Case 422-055, July 2021. (Revised September 2021.)