For 60 years (1937 to 1997), the MIT Industrial Relations Section has carried
on research and a PhD program devoted to the full range of
issues related to work, labor and employment relations, human
resource management, labor market issues, and related public
policies. In 1997, in recognition of the changing economy
and workforce, the name of this unit was changed to The Institute
for Work and Employment Research (IWER). IWER is an MIT-wide
multidisciplinary research and educational unit located within
MIT Sloan and MIT's Engineering Systems Division. Participating
faculty are drawn from the Sloan School and the Departments
of Economics, Political Science, and Urban Studies and Planning.
IWER faculty and graduate students conduct research on the
broad range of issues related to the role of work and employment
in the contemporary economy and society, including labor-management
relations, human resource strategies and practices in both
mature and new entrepreneurial organizations, work and family
relationships, human capital and corporate governance, labor
market theory and policy analysis, the changing nature of
work and occupations, negotiations theory and practice, dispute
resolution, and labor and employment policy. Together with
other Sloan colleagues, IWER faculty and students have launched
the MIT Workplace Center, which focuses on building—in
theory and in practice—a mutually supportive relationship
between the performance of firms and the well being of employees,
their families, and communities.
The institute administers a PhD program and fellowships primarily
for students enrolled in the MIT Sloan PhD program, but students
from other departments at MIT are encouraged to become members
of IWER, participate in weekly seminars and work closely with
faculty members. The seminar series on Changes and Challenges
in the World of Work is held every Tuesday and brings together
faculty and students at MIT and in the Boston area to discuss
work in progress and serves as a major focal point for interest
in this field.
IWER's codirectors are Thomas A. Kochan and Paul Osterman. For more information, contact Jacalyn Curreri, 50 Memorial Drive, Room E52-580, Cambridge, MA 02142-1347, 617-258-8360, fax 617-253-7696, iwer@mit.edu.