Professor of the practice Donald Sull said the reason why bosses need to nurture different working environments is because culture is an operating system for companies. And because strategies differ, cultures should too.

Professor Erin Kelly has described how ever-increasing demands on workers' time rob them of their health, security, and even the ability to get a good night's sleep. In this context, unions may come to seem like a palatable alternative. In addition to traditional unions, worker centers have also become more common and are attracting support as well. These centers focus on forging connections and sharing resources among workers across sectors. Professor Emeritus Tom Kochan has found that these worker centers can play an integral role in amplifying worker voice.

Quantitative trading and data-driven positions now account for over 40 percent of job placements among 2024 MIT Sloan MiF graduates, reflecting growing employer demand for technical talent. "While some finance employers may be taking a more cautious approach to associate-level hiring, we continue to see sustained demand and interest at the analyst level for investment banking roles," said Susan Brennan, assistant dean, career development office.

Professor Deborah Lucas said economic bailouts have become "unnecessarily frequent and wide-ranging." A so-called "bailout culture" has become somewhat normalized, said Lucas. "The expansion of deposit guarantees to uninsured depositors following Silicon Valley Bank's collapse in 2023 exemplifies this trend," she added.

Professor Nelson P. Repenning said he appreciates Suzy Welch's book, "Becoming You" as a blueprint that considers one's skills as well as values. That realism is important for his students, he said. "There's a whole section in the book about aptitudes and what you're good at. I think there's been a big wave in the social sciences for at least the last decade, and probably longer, suggesting that talent really didn’t matter," he said.

Institute Professor Daron Acemoglu estimates that AI will increase U.S. productivity by just 0.05% annually over the next decade — based on the idea that most companies won't change how they operate.

Research scientist Jonathan Ruane who co-authored MIT's Quantum Index Report 2025, sees a path for quantum computing to create value for business leaders. "Quantum computing breakthroughs in science and engineering will make the tool more valuable for business," he said.

Some companies are hiring "AI architects" to help oversee agentic systems and cut down on gaffes. The question is who will occupy those roles in the future if early-career workers are cut off from opportunities today. Professor Simon Johnson doesn't expect companies to take into account the social cost of career disruption in making their decisions. He suggests governments lower payroll taxes for entry-level roles to encourage hiring. "The right lever to pull is one that reduces costs to employers," Johnson said.

A regulatory framework is essential for safety and growth in the market, said research scientist Christian Catalini. "All those things are missing from the picture," said Catalini, who once worked with ­Facebook to develop a stablecoin-like token. "Stable­coins are a bit like the first cars running on the bumpy roads that were meant for horses," he said. "You're not seeing their full potential."

A paper co-authored by assistant professor Mert Demirer found that software developers who used an A.I. coding assistant improved a key measure of productivity by more than 25 percent. Demirer said that a software developer's job could change over the longer term, so that the human coder would become a kind of project manager overseeing multiple A.I. assistants.