The Brain-Friendly Workplace: 5 Big Ideas From Neuroscience That Address Organizational Challenges

Transform your organization into a “best place to work” by using brain-friendly strategies.

It is an understatement to say that this is a difficult time to be a part of the American workforce. It is difficult for employees enduring the many seismic shifts in the work they do, the way they do that work, and the people with whom they collaborate in the workplace. And it is difficult for employers facing daunting challenges in hiring, training, retaining, and managing employees; implementing new ways of working; and redefining the work that the organization will do. This book describes several big workplace challenges that can be positively affected by brain-friendly strategies. Then it applies five “big ideas” from neuroscience to each of these challenges. By learning about these fundamental brain processes and adapting your organization’s culture to fit them, workplaces can be transformed.

• Review the challenges facing workplaces today, and what’s on the horizon.
• Learn the five brain-friendly strategies that use our brains in the way they naturally function.
• Enhance your employees’ strengths and confidence by applying these strategies and become a “best place to work” award winner.

Complete with a look inside award-winning organizations, tips on putting the science to work, and an assessment tool, this book will help you measure and improve the level of brain-friendliness in your organization.

About the Author

Dr. Erika Garms transforms theory into practical, exciting tools and strategies for professionals. Erika works with learning and development and organization development practitioners to incorporate brain science research into their existing approaches to yield lasting behavior change and learning. She helps business leaders and managers shape brain-friendly workplaces where people can do their best work, work effectively together on high-performing teams, and maintain healthy and thriving work environments.

Erika considers herself both a humanist and a social scientist, intrigued by blending the art and science of learning, performance, and change. Erika earned her BA and MA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a PhD from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She completed a post-graduate program in neuroscience of leadership from the NeuroLeadership Insitute and University of Sussex. Erika also leads the Minneapolis-St. Paul NeuroLeadership Institute Local Interest Group, one of just a handful in the U.S. at this time. Erika is a regular workshop, keynote, retreat, and breakout session speaker.