The UofL study is believed to be the first to connect biomarkers for chronic disease risk to factors such as stress, employee capacity for work assigned, workplace physical and social environment and whether we see our work as meaningful. The findings are published in theĚý.

These factors are part of a new concept the UofL researchers have coined which they hope will become a model for both employers and employees to better understand the health impacts of workplace culture.

“For a long time, we’ve assumed that workplace culture can impact our health,” said Brad Shuck, an author on the study and organizational culture researcher in UofL’s . “This study shows, in biological terms, that assumption is true and improving our understanding of these links could help both employees and employers make better, more informed decisions that keep everyone healthy and happy in their workĚý±đ˛Ô±ąľ±°ů´Ç˛Ôłľ±đ˛ÔłŮ˛ő.”

In the study, Shuck andĚý researchers Kandi Walker, Joy Hart and Rachel Keith asked participants to complete questionnaires on their well-being and work determinants of health factors, such as how engaged and positive or negative they felt about their work environment. Walker and Hart hold faculty appointments in the College of Arts & Sciences and Keith is a faculty member in the School of Medicine.

, an organizational development researcher, and associate professor, calls his four-step plan the “RISE Reintegration Model,” a strategic planning framework he says leaders in a range of industries can use to begin thinking through the questions and plans for bringing teams back into the physical workplace.

“Employee reintegration is coming as it becomes safer to do so,” Shuck said. “But from an organizational standpoint, that’s easier said than done. That’s why it’s important for companies to think through these factors and develop a proactive, intentional plan.”Ěý

Shuck’s RISE model centers on four “Rs,” the first being “Reset.” This step, he said, should begin two to three months ahead of bringing employees back, and asks companies to consider how their offices will be different than they were before pandemic shutdown. For example, there may be COVID-19 safety protocols, increased use of technology and employees who need time to adjust back from working out of their living rooms.

“Companies went through one major reset in 2020, when many employees began working remotely, and this is another major reset,” Shuck said. “It’s not going to go right back to business as usual. Things will likely look different than they did before. Companies need to prepare – and help their employees prepare – for that.”

The second R, “Restart,” happens in the first one to two months after companies restart in-person work. In this phase, Shuck said, companies should allow employees time to reacclimate to the old-but-new environment and put a heavy focus on short-term goals, which can build a sense of momentum, value and direction.

The third R, “Recalibrate,” should begin two to four months after companies reopen. In this phase, Shuck said, companies should focus on adjusting business strategy for new information, emerging market norms and a dynamic operating landscape dramatically changed by the global pandemic.

“As we look into the emerging economies of work, there is no country, no industry, no company, no team and no individual that the COVID-19 crisis did not touch in some way,” he said. “In some market spaces, entire industries changed. Some industries no longer exist. In other spaces, new industries and ideas have emerged.”

The last R, “Reinvent,” is all about taking lessons learned during the pandemic and integrating them into the company’s operations. For example, seeing that employees can work from home effectively may lead to giving them more flexibility in office hours. This phase, Shuck said, should happen four to eight months after companies bring employees back and then every six months for the next three years.

“With adapting to change, everything comes down to having a plan,” Shuck said. “By thinking things through and following a clear roadmap, companies give themselves the best chance of coming back better and stronger.”

“Innovation is absolutely critical to UofL’s mission,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “It’s what drives us and inspires us. Our three most important goals as a university are to be a great place to learn, to work and to invest, and the work of these innovators contributes to all three.”Ěý

The second annual event, hosted virtually this year by the and its technology transfer arm, the honored UofL innovators who had recently been awarded a patent or whose technology had been licensed to a company for commercialization in fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, 2020.Ěý

Two large awards were also presented: Paula Bates was given the Innovator of the Year Award, and Theo Edmonds, Brad Shuck and Laura Weingartner all accepted Trailblazer awards on behalf of their teams. Each was delivered a red-and-black glass flame — the symbol for the event.

“Our office, and UofL as a whole, are committed to taking the brilliant, groundbreaking research happening on our campus out of the lab, out of the classroom, and translating it into inventions and products that improve the way we work and live,” said Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation, Kevin Gardner. “And, this past year, our researchers worked tirelessly to develop innovations that in a very real way, may save lives — all while dealing with the added challenges of COVID-19.”Ěý

Innovator of the Year, Bates, is a serial inventor and , known for a long track record of developing strong partnerships with industry to commercialize her technologies. In 2020, she partnered with other UofL innovators to develop a potential breakthrough in our fight against COVID-19 that is believed to block the virus from infecting human cells. The technologyĚý to a now publicly-traded biomedical company, which is working with UofL to further develop it for market.

As for the Trailblazers, who are awarded for work in new areas of innovation for UofL, Edmonds accepted the award for the Cultural Wellbeing Index, a tool that helps companies improve corporate culture and organizational wellbeing. To commercialize the technology, Edmonds launched , UofL’s .

Shuck accepted for the Employee Engagement Scale, a software that helps companies measure workforce engagement. The technology’s non-exclusive license to startup Unitonomy marks the — followed by the second and third, also secured by Shuck, when the technology was licensed to two other companies in the same year.

Lastly, Weingartner accepted the award for “,” a first-of-its-kind manual aimed at better-training future medical professionals on caring for LGBTQ and other non-normative patients. The manual is meant to provide resources and guidance so that medical schools, residencies and continuing medical education programs across the country are able to implement training and provide better resources for more equitable care.

All told, fiscal year 2020 was the at UofL, with a total income of $9.4 million driven by a strong year for startups and deals. It also was UofL’s best year on-record for competitive research funding, with total new awards of $170 million.

“This was a great year for innovation and research — also our best year on record,” said Allen Morris, executive director of the Commercialization EPI-Center. “Our innovators all share in that success, and I look forward to continuing that work together in 2021.”

“Traditionally, work had defined boundaries, meal times had defined boundaries and socializing had defined boundaries. Those boundaries are gone,” said Brad Shuck, EdD, associate professor in the University of Louisville’s Department of łÉČËÖ±˛Ąal Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development. “If your productivity has slipped in the last few weeks and you are feeling a tad more irritable or just defeated, there is a scientific reason why.”

Shuck and Charley Miller, founder of , a Louisville-based company that designs software to increase remote working efficiency, will help all of us new work-at-homers cope in a virtual presentation of the next Beer with a Scientist at 7 p.m. April 22.

Distraction – whether it is trying to learn and explain third-grade math, bombardment of Slack messages or the lure of just one more episode on Netflix – cost more than just a diversion from activity. It costs mental space and time to refocus. Using the behavioral economic principle of capacity, Shuck and Miller will explain how decision science can help us understand why we feel distracted, why we might get more easily frustrated, and what we can do about it.

Shuck and Miller will speak via Facebook Live from Holsopple Brewing beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. As in the in-person versions of Beer with a Scientist, their 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session using Facebook comments.ĚýThe live presentation will be archived on the Facebook pages for later viewing.

To participate in the event, visit the Louisville Underground Science Facebook page just before 7 p.m.:Ěý

The presentation also will be aired live on the Holsopple Brewing Facebook page:Ěý

And now, Louisville startup Ěýhas licensed the technology from UofL and is working to get it to market.Ěý

The inventor here, , studies organizational culture and applied behavioral economics as an associate professor at the UofL College of łÉČËÖ±˛Ą and Human Development (CEHD). His is the first licensed technology out of CEHD.Ěý

Shuck said organizations are more productive and, often, more profitable when their employees are engaged in their workplace. Engaged employees also have a better overall workplace experience. However, his research suggests there is a more than 60% drop off in levels of engagement in the first six months of an employee’s tenure.

“Globally, employee engagement remains a critical, and sought-after competitive advantage for businesses and organizations of all sizes,” he said. “It is the differentiator between market share, customer experience and quality. Everyone wants more of it.”

His software, the Employee Engagement Scale (EES), helps companies to monitor that engagement, and hopefully improve it, through brief, easy-to-use surveys that gauge how employees think and feel about their work.Ěý

The EES will be a central part of system for businesses that provides a sort of “virtual colleague” — one that keeps track of who and what staff are communicating while analyzing collaboration. CEOĚýCharley Miller said the “colleague”Ěýcould help leaders in the company better understand their employees and make smart decisions on how to improve the work environment.ĚýĚýĚý

“One of the key aspects of a good colleague is that they are great listeners,” Miller said. “Dr. Shuck’s IP enables us to ensure our virtual colleague is great listener when it comes to understanding how to ascertain employee engagement.”Ěý

Not only is Shuck’s technology the first out of CEHD to be licensed to a company, but it’s the first license of the UofL Office of Research and Innovation’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, or EIR, program.Ěý

Miller was one of the program’s first EIRs, to help guide UofL research-backed technologies to market in collaboration with the . After Miller’s term ended, he launched Unitonomy around Shuck’s technology.Ěý

“Sometimes all it takes is getting the right mix of people — researchers, entrepreneurs, community members — in the same room,” said Will Metcalf, executive director of , who launched the EIR program. “This is case-in-point, and we’re so excited to see what grows of this partnership between Charley and UofL.”Ěý

Funding for the EIRs comes from the , a public-private partnership led by UofL and backed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.