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Videos

  • How to Solve the Loneliness Epidemic
    How to Solve the Loneliness Epidemic
    SXSW 2025
  • Connie Noonan Hadley: Loneliness, Psychological Safety, Team Effectiveness, AI | Work 20XX Ep33
    Connie Noonan Hadley: Loneliness, Psychological Safety, Team Effectiveness, AI | Work 20XX Ep33
    Featured on YouTube Leadership Insights
  • The Real Value of Psychological Safety: Connie Hadley and Amy Edmondson
    The Real Value of Psychological Safety: Connie Hadley and Amy Edmondson
  • Thinkers50 Radar 2024 featuring Connie Hadley
    Thinkers50 Radar 2024 featuring Connie Hadley
  • The Surprising Power of Rituals - Learnings from our HBR Article
    The Surprising Power of Rituals - Learnings from our HBR Article
  • Well-being management & education
    Well-being management & education
  • The Hidden Struggles of Employees with Bipolar Disorder with Connie Hadley
    The Hidden Struggles of Employees with Bipolar Disorder with Connie Hadley

Learn More About Connie Noonan Hadley

Constance (Connie) Noonan Hadley, Ph.D., helps leaders tackle today’s most urgent workplace challenges – from loneliness to burnout to psychological safety – with insights rooted in organizational psychology and real-world leadership experience. As founder of the Institute for Life at Work, a Boston University professor, and associate director of the Human Resources Policy Institute, Hadley brings multiple perspectives to current issues.

Known for her ability to translate rigorous research into practical insights and guidance for leaders, Hadley is a sought-after speaker, commentator and advisor. For her role in reshaping global management thinking, she was recognized on the 2024 Thinkers50 Radar list. As organizations design processes around the future of work, Hadley works closely with leaders, helping them understand how the decisions they make today may impact their culture and strategy tomorrow.

A research and evidence-based scientist with a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Harvard University, Hadley, who is a former consulting researcher at Microsoft Research Lab – New England, has the experience and methodologies to dig beneath the surface of organizational issues ranging from team dynamics to diversity, equity and inclusion. Her accessible frameworks and insights illuminate what is happening inside the hearts and minds of employees so leaders can better understand and manage their teams.

Hadley’s previous experience working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and in marketing and operations at General Mills sharpened her skills as an organizational change expert. She explains, “My goal is always to translate knowledge into practice. That requires me to really engage with my audience and meet them where they are. I do not provide textbook answers, but I do offer unique research insights, case examples and cautionary tales to help leaders understand the issues and see a path forward.”

For example, as firms grapple with return-to-work scenarios, Hadley sees problems – and solutions – around both the hybrid and permanently remote models. In either case, she says organizations will need to be more deliberate about how they structure policies, staff teams, manage meetings and set expectations. She recently shared a vision of organizations operating as a “league of teams” with a focus on prioritizing and coordinating team interactions so that better work-life balance can be achieved. As she explains in Forbes, it is crucial that organizations approach the return to the office “with a primary focus on psychological safety as well as physical safety. Without both, employees might just as well stay home.”

At the core of Hadley’s work is helping employees across ranks find meaning and fulfillment in their jobs so that both they and their organizations can flourish. She is particularly skilled at identifying and addressing the often-hidden problem of loneliness in the workplace.

“I encourage leaders to take a more active stance in supporting the health and well-being of their workforce, but I also recognize that strategic goals and constraints need to be considered too,” Hadley says. “It doesn’t have to be either/or, profits or people. Resilient, more engaged employees not only create stronger organizations, they set the foundation for a healthier society.”

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Constance (Connie) Noonan Hadley, Ph.D., is an organizational psychologist and research associate professor at the Boston University Questrom School of Business. She is a board member of the Higher Ambition Leadership Alliance. Previously, Hadley worked in the fields of management consulting at McKinsey & Company and in marketing and operations at General Mills, Inc. Her work has been published in Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management ReviewThe Leadership QuarterlyHuman Relations, and Group & Organization Management, and featured in The New York TimesThe Times (U.K.)WiredForbes and other news outlets.

She holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Harvard University/Harvard Business School, an MBA in human resource and strategic management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in social psychology from Princeton University.

Constance Hadley is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.

Connie Noonan Hadley was last modified: October 16th, 2025 by Justin Louis

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Human-Centered Work in the Age of AI and Automation

In this future-oriented talk, Connie Hadley, Ph.D. emphasizes why – and how – organizations should focus on employee well-being, even in the age of AI. Drawing from her in-depth research, Hadley explains the positive impact of human-centered approaches on workers, companies and societies. She emphasizes the urgency of incorporating best practices in people management while implementing AI to avoid worst case scenarios. Leaders will learn how to resist the false dichotomy between humanity and technology, and to think more holistically about the opportunities at hand. Attendees walk away with practical strategies for ensuring that work remains meaningful, collaborative and human centered.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Teams

In this talk, Connie Hadley, Ph.D. explains how teams can be redesigned to foster high performance, learning and connection. Leveraging her research and consulting experience, she explains the core design features and processes that bring out the best in teams. Topics include AI-fueled collaboration, meeting management, psychological safety, social connection, and conflict handling skills. Practical examples of successful team-level interventions will be highlighted to show the path forward. Ultimately, leaders will learn how to create environments where success is a shared responsibility and teamwork is supercharged by technology.

Leveraging the Power of Psychological Safety

Research shows that psychological safety is often the single strongest predictor of organizational learning and team success, yet it remains elusive in many workplaces. In today’s hybrid and AI-augmented environments, employees often feel even less safe to speak up, worried about surveillance, retaliation or futility. Leveraging her research and advisory work, Connie Hadley, Ph.D. explains what psychological safety truly means, how it can be measured and how leaders can foster candor and trust in digital-first settings. Attendees will leave with strategies to build cultures where employees feel secure asking questions, admitting mistakes and sharing bold ideas – ultimately driving stronger collaboration and innovation.

Keeping the Workforce Together: Social Connection in the Age of AI

Loneliness is not just a personal issue, it is an organizational challenge with significant costs, including disengagement, burnout and turnover. Connie Hadley, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading experts on work loneliness, with her co-authored article on the topic having graced the cover of the Harvard Business Review Magazine in 2024. In this presentation, she will explain her research findings on how disconnection from colleagues, particularly in hybrid or technology-enabled environments, can undermine both well-being and performance. Hadley will outline the root causes of employee loneliness and provides actionable steps for leaders to strengthen connection, belonging and mutual support. Participants will learn how to design workplace cultures and systems that counteract disconnection and promote resilience in the digital age.

The Art of Effective Negotiations

Negotiation is a daily necessity in a world of rapid change, remote interactions and global teams. Organizational psychologist and Questrom School of Business professor Connie Hadley, Ph.D. – a recognized authority on psychological safety and team dynamics – teaches a strategic approach to brokering relationships and deals. In this talk, she dispels fears and misconceptions about negotiating, explains the underlying structure of different types of negotiations and shares insights on how to prepare before you get to the negotiating table. Participants come away from this session with greater confidence and a solid understanding of how to negotiate strategically and successfully in both face-to-face and digitally mediated contexts.

AI and the Human Side of Work

Artificial intelligence is changing not just what we do, but how we relate to one another. In this presentation, Connie Hadley, Ph.D. explores the risks (bias, disconnection, loss of trust) and opportunities (freeing up time, scaling inclusion, improving workload balance) of AI at work. Attendees will learn how to adopt AI in ways that strengthen – not erode – the human side of teamwork.

The Future of Trust in a Tech-Enabled Workplace

Trust has always been the currency of collaboration. But in workplaces shaped by data, surveillance and algorithmic decision-making, trust is increasingly fragile. In this presentation, Connie Hadley, Ph.D. offers a framework for building, measuring and restoring trust in environments where both humans and AI drive outcomes.

Human Sustainability at Work

Organizations are quick to talk about financial or environmental sustainability – but rarely about human sustainability. Drawing from her research on burnout, loneliness and psychological safety Connie Hadley, Ph.D. makes the case for why investing in employee well-being and resilience is the most urgent business imperative. Leaders will leave this presentation with strategies to embed “human sustainability” into the core of organizational design.

HBR Harvard Business Review 2022

We're Still Lonely at Work

November-December 2024

HBR Harvard Business Review 2022

Stop the Meeting Madness

July-August 2017

Each day, leaders at all levels are grappling with urgent workplace challenges — from the rise of AI and its impact on human connection to rising loneliness, burnout and disengagement to the need for cultures of trust and inclusion that can withstand rapid change. Organizational psychologist and workplace culture expert Constance (Connie) Noonan Hadley, Ph.D., helps executives go beneath the surface to better understand “the human side of work” — including how to strengthen psychological safety, belonging and team effectiveness — so they can foster resilience and build organizations where people and performance thrive together.

Advisory sessions, workshops and keynotes can be tailored to cover topics such as:

  • Harnessing AI While Preserving Human Connection
  • Reducing Loneliness and Burnout at Work
  • Creating Psychological Safety and Trust in Teams
  • Enhancing Team Effectiveness and Collaboration
  • Supporting Mental Health and Well-being
  • Transforming Workplace Culture for Agility and Inclusion

Ask us about Connie Hadley’s hands-on workshops, where research meets practice to create lasting impact.

The “Crafting Your Life” simulation has been a bestseller at Harvard Business Publishing, with more than 40,000 people completing it since its launch in June 2020. Co-authors Connie Hadley and Leslie Perlow continue to use the simulation data in their research on career decision-making and values alignment.


 

Workshops

Organizational psychologist Constance (Connie) Noonan Hadley, Ph.D., offers customized workshops for leaders and teams that blend research, real-world insights and experiential learning. Her sessions help organizations navigate today’s most pressing workplace challenges – from the impact of AI on human connection, to rising loneliness and burnout, to the need for resilient, inclusive and high-performing cultures.

Sample topics include:

  • Harnessing AI While Preserving Human Connection
  • Psychological Safety & Inclusive Leadership
  • Identifying and Addressing Loneliness in the Workplace
  • Building Trust, Resilience and Mental Health into Organizations
  • Creating Collaborative, Innovative Teams
  • The Future of Work: Risk Factors and Solutions in Hybrid and Remote Work
  • Work Engagement and Career Decision-Making
  • Negotiations and Navigating Power Dynamics
  • Social Support and Gender Dynamics at Work

These interactive sessions — offered as a 1-hour keynote, 2-hour interactive workshop or 3-hour team training session — always include Q&A and can be tailored to organizational needs. Participants leave with practical tools, powerful insights and renewed inspiration to create workplaces where both people and performance thrive.