human resource strategy – The OM Blog by Heizer, Render, & Munson

OM in the News: The AI’s Industry 100-Hour Workweeks

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence has forced leading tech companies to rethink their human resource strategies and job design, reports The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 23, 2025). As the demand for rapid innovation intensifies, organizations like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Anthropic are relying on small, highly skilled teams to push the boundaries of AI development. These teams often work 80 to 100 hours per week, far exceeding the traditional schedules we discuss in Chapter 10, as they race to keep up with the pace of technological change.

Several researchers compared the circumstances to war. “We’re basically trying to speedrun 20 years of scientific progress in two years,” said one Anthropic scientist. “Extraordinary advances in AI systems are happening every few months. It’s the most interesting scientific question in the world right now.”

This environment has led to a redefinition of job roles and expectations. Rather than adhering to standard 9-to-5 or even the demanding “9-9-6” (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week) schedules, some AI workers describe “0-0-2” routines—working around the clock with minimal breaks. The pressure is especially acute for those directly involved in developing new AI models, where the unpredictability of research outcomes and the speed of breakthroughs require constant adaptability.

To support these extreme demands, companies are adapting their HR strategies. Some provide weekend meals and ensure continuous staffing, while others appoint rotating “captains” to monitor model outputs and oversee product development. These measures aim to sustain productivity and manage burnout, acknowledging that the traditional boundaries between work and personal life have blurred for many in the field.

Job design in this context emphasizes autonomy, intrinsic motivation, and a sense of mission. Many top AI researchers are driven not just by compensation but by the excitement of discovery and the belief that their work is shaping a pivotal moment in history. This self-motivation reduces the need for formalized overtime requirements, as employees willingly invest extra hours to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

But this also raises concerns about sustainability and well-being. While some workers have become wealthy from their efforts, most have little time to enjoy their success or maintain relationships outside of work. The model raises questions about long-term retention and the potential need for more balanced, human-centered HR strategies as AI becomes further integrated into mainstream business operations.

Classroom discussion questions:

Your comments on the 100 hour workweek?
Is this a valid human resource strategy?

OM in the News: AI and Human Resource Strategy

The growing use of AI in the workplace raises many ethical questions.

“Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way managers do their job–from those who get hired to how they are evaluated to who gets promoted,” writes The Wall Street Journal (March 13, 2017). Here are 4 examples:

Companies use AI to help them find the best candidates for jobs. Such software often spots the most promising resumes among what may be an unmanageable deluge, or it widens the net so employers can find a more diverse pool of candidates. SAP’s Resume Matcher software reads Wikipedia entries to understand job descriptions, related skills and so on. Then it correlates what it learned with resumes along with notes on whether a given applicant was shortlisted, interviewed, hired and the like.

Once managers have hired ideal candidates, AI can help keep them productive by tracking how they handle various aspects of their jobs—starting with how they use their computers all day. Veriato makes software that logs virtually everything done on a computer—web browsing, email, chat, keystrokes, document and app use—and takes periodic screenshots.

Companies can also track employees’ whereabouts in the office. Bluvision makes radio badges that track movement of people in a building, and display it in an app and send an alert if a badge wearer violates a company policy—say, when a person without proper credentials enters a sensitive area. The system can also be used to track time employees spend at their desks, in the cafeteria or in a restroom.

AI can also help managers peer into personal aspects of job performance that used to be left up to observations—for instance, attitudes toward the job. Veriato analyzes email and other messages, looking at words and phrases employees use. Then it scores those expressions for positive or negative sentiment. The system can set a sentiment baseline over time.

Classroom discussion questions:

Discuss the ethical issues here.
How else might AI help a company’s human resource strategy?

OM in the News: Keeping Your Human Resources Happy

In Chapter 10, “Human Resources, Job Design, and Work Measurement,” we hold out Southwest Airlines as a model of workplace civility. The Wall Street Journal (Aug. 28, 2013), in this article on how hostile work environments cost companies in productivity and creativity, agrees. The Journal writes that the warm-and-fuzzy corporate culture of Southwest includes an entire department devoted to sending employees supportive notes when a family member is ill or congratulations when they have a baby. “We have people here who remember our birthdays when our family members don’t,” says one VP.

But this is rare. Some 96% of workers say they have experienced uncivil behavior and 98% have witnessed it, according to a Georgetown U. study. A separate recent study showed that 50% of workers felt they were treated rudely at least once a week. Victims of incivility dial back their work effort and are more likely to lash out. Uncivil behavior can “spread like a virus across teams,” adds a professor at Antioch. And the costs can be steep: Cisco Systems estimates the cost of incivility in its organization at $8.3 million annually. That figure takes into account turnover, employees’ weakened commitment to the company and work time that was lost to worrying about future bad behavior.

At the National Security Agency, managers encourage workers to pay someone a compliment or show up early for a meeting. NSA employees who do good deeds are honored as “civility stars,” rewarded with plaques. Even Dish Network, which topped website 24/7 Wall St.’s list of “the worst companies to work for,” is trying to take a kinder, gentler approach. That has meant summertime concerts and a softened stance toward the company’s attendance policy. “I wanted it to be a more fun place to work,” says Dish’s CEO. “I think people have a responsibility to treat everybody else the way they want to be treated.”

Some organizations are even setting rules to foster friendliness. At Louisiana’s Ochsner Health System, employees are required to follow the “10/5 rule,” making eye contact with anyone within 10 feet and greeting anyone within 5 feet.

Discussion questions:

1. How can civility be increased in the classroom?

2. Is it the operations manager’s job to keep employees happy?

OM in the News: They Call it “The Chasing-Out Room” in Japan

Unwanted employees are made to feel forgotten

Shusaku Tani is employed at the Sony electronics plant in Tagajo, Japan, reports The New York Times (Aug. 17, 2013) front page story, but he doesn’t really work. For more than 2 years, he has come to a small room, taken a seat and then passed the time reading. Sony consigned him to this room because it can’t get rid of him. His position at the Technology Center was eliminated, but Tani, 51, refused to take an early retirement offer in 2010 — his prerogative under Japanese labor law. So there he sits in what is called the “chasing-out room.” “I won’t leave. Companies aren’t supposed to act this way. It’s inhumane,” he states.

The standoff between Sony workers and management underscores an intensifying battle over hiring and firing practices in Japan, where lifetime employment has long been the norm and where large-scale layoffs remain a social taboo. Economists say bringing flexibility to the labor market in Japan would help struggling companies streamline bloated work forces to better compete in the global economy. Fewer restrictions on layoffs could make it easier for Sony to leave loss-ridden traditional businesses and concentrate resources on more innovative, promising ones.

Sony offered workers early retirement packages that are generous by US standards–severance payments equivalent to as much as 54 months of pay. But the real point of the rooms is to make employees feel so bored and shamed that they just quit. Labor practices in Japan contrast sharply with those in the US, where companies are quick to lay off workers when demand slows or a product becomes obsolete. It may be cruel to the worker, but it usually gives the overall economy agility.

Discussion questions:

1. Have the “chasing out rooms” been successful?

2. Why did Detroit automakers eliminate their version of the rooms (called “rubber rooms”)?

Video Tip: Hard Rock’s Human Resource Strategy

Filming the whole series of 7 Hard Rock videos was a really interesting experience. First, it is such an unusual company–the 8th most-recognized brand name in the world: with food ostensibly as its product–but in reality it is an experience-based product of rock n’ roll, memorabilia, exciting/unusual staff, popular gifts, and finally the meal.

What was the biggest eye opener, though, was not seeing one employee–from CEO on down–ever dressed in coat and tie. And that is what makes this particular video fun to show in class (as part of Ch.10, or just to close out the semester). What other company (prior to the recession, of course) had minimal turnover, allowed employees to have pink hair, body piercings galore, and multiple tatoos? And who else offers every employee a Rolex watch to celebrate their 10 year anniversary? What a strange contrast to the so clean-cut image of our other major employer in Orlando, namely Disneyworld!

This video is very reassuring to undergrads who see themselves as non-conformist, and hope there is some place in the wide world of business in which they can make a home. It is easy to generate good classroom discussion with students who have had work experience in normal restaurants, sharing impressions of the differences.