Work engagement is a persistent, positive state of mind that enhances productivity, creativity, and well-being. However, few practical methods exist to foster it. Addressing this gap, researchers from Japan developed WEDiary, a smartphone app that encourages daily positive reflection on work achievements. In a randomized controlled trial involving 600 Japanese workers, the app significantly improved work engagement levels in only 2 weeks, with effects lasting 3 weeks beyond the intervention.

Entrepreneurship studies often focus on firm growth-related topics. The factors affecting the high-growth (HG) in high-growth firms (HGFs) are not well established. While some studies suggest that proactive strategizing precedes the HG period, others consider that the near-random structure of the firm’s growth is better to delay growth-related investments. This study focuses on the “timing” of setting up new hierarchical layers and the consequences if it happens before or after the growth event.

Social hierarchies are everywhere—think of high school dramas, where the athletes are portrayed as most popular, or large companies, where the CEO makes the important decisions. Such hierarchies aren’t just limited to humans, but span the animal kingdom, with dominant individuals getting faster food access, higher mating priority, and bigger or better territories. Whilst it’s long been thought that winning or losing can influence the position of an individual within a social hierarchy, the brain mechanisms behind these social dynamics have remained a mystery. In iScience, researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) investigate the neurological basis of social hierarchy in male mice, pinpointing the neurons they believe crucial in determining these social hierarchy dynamics.

A review reveals that the interplay between technology, identity, and languages involves and encourages multiple identities, language mixing, and support for minority languages

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that drivers were far more likely to honk after being cut off by a vehicle bearing a political bumper sticker, particularly one for the opposing political party.