Good Business Lab

About us
Good Business Lab (www.goodbusinesslab.org) is an independent, non-profit labor innovation lab that uses rigorous research methods to design, develop, and test scalable, market-ready interventions capable of providing dual benefits to workers and businesses. 

The founders of the lab are Ach Adhvaryu Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan (www.achadhvaryu.com), Anant Nyshadham Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, and Anant Ahuja head of Organization Development at Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd.

We have been incubated at Shahi Exports, India's biggest apparel export house, where we have conducted several studies in their sixty plus factories in the past six years and have now expanded our work to the United States and Latin America. Some of our other partners include the Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania, the World Bank, International Labor Organization, Arcos Dorados, Grupo Éxito, Toyota,  .

GBL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, physical disability, or length of time spent unemployed. 

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We also offer several other non-monetary workplace benefits like flexible work hours, and the ability to work remotely. We are a young and growing start-up making us the ideal ground for team members to experiment, take on dynamic roles, and grow with us. We focus on happiness, output, and quality of work.

Overview 
Projects include looking at the migration experience and mental health of workers and how this is affected by pairing them with experienced workers from their region (through a novel ‘buddy system’), Digital screening and training tool for frontline managers, unlocking female labor through rural training centres, and how an effective grievance redressal system for workers affects their job outcomes. To ensure the smooth implementation of all projects, we are looking for a Research Associate, details of which are given below.
 
Location: Bangalore / Delhi
 
Length of Commitment: at least one year
 
Start Date: ASAP (applications being accepted on a rolling basis) / Summer hire (July, 2022)

Remuneration: 8.5-10 lacs p.a
 
Who are you?
 
Ideally you have:
 

• Bachelor’s degree in economics/statistics required; Masters preferred
• Knowledge of STATA (any other statistical tool) preferred
• Ability to work in a team, manage multiple projects on the ground and be self-motivated
• Strong communication skills

 
What will you do?
 
The Associate will work closely with academic researchers, the research implementation team, and other research staff to help implement various projects. Key responsibilities include (but not limited to):
 

• Designing survey instruments and ensuring that survey is being conducted properly
• Monitoring data quality and ensuring that problems with data are resolved promptly
• Identifying potential threats to research design, proposing solutions, and escalating as needed to researchers
• Conducting secondary research and literature reviews
• Ensuring research and data protocols are upheld. (For instance, ensuring IRB approval before data collection, ensuring coding and analysis protocols are followed)
• Ensuring project documentation is complete and well maintained
• Preparing policy memos and brochures on past and on-going research
• Cleaning data required for the analysis of a study
• Coordinating with the administrative and finance teams on a variety of tasks related to payments to study participants and other study related costs
• Maintaining relations with partner organizations

What should you be comfortable with?
 

• A dynamic environment with competing priorities
• Working in a team with shared responsibilities
• Independently coordinating with coworkers to accomplish goals
• Being resourceful in new environments and scenarios
• Problem-solve in hi-pressure environments

 
What will be your benefits?

There are plenty of benefits at GBL, here are some examples:

• Flexible leave policy: Time away from work can be extremely helpful for maintaining a healthy work/life balance. GBL encourages managers and leadership to set the example by taking time off when needed and ensuring their team members do the same. We don’t have a strict limit on paid leaves, only suggested ( extremely liberal) averages.
• Flexible working hours: We recognize that a better work-life balance can improve employee motivation, performance, productivity, and reduce stress. The basis of our norms pertaining to this is a system of trust in each other and our common goals.
• Training and Development: GBL team members can set aside 10% of their work time / around 4 hours a week to improve their skills/knowledge on a subject that they think will help them perform their job better. We encourage all employees to focus both on technical and soft skills. We also facilitate employee mentorship programs.
• GBL Care Systems: As an organization, we are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of our team members and creating a thriving work environment- because that gives us, together, the best chance at achieving our shared mission and sparking joy at work. We do this by partnering with organizations such The Mindclan, Therapize among others for workshops and other wellbeing related initiatives. 
• Growth-oriented review policy: To foster collaboration, we have adopted regular reviews and check-ins among team members. We see a manager’s role beyond what is expected from them by conventional management thinkers. Apart from delivering high-quality work, managers are responsible for the holistic development of their team members. This can be achieved through practices inspired by coaching philosophy.
  
  

Additional benefits:

• Wellbeing budget: This includes an individual budget for each team member that they can claim reimbursement for things such as therapy, any physical-health related activity and home office setup. Additionally, there's a separate budget for Managers for care packages or any other team activities. There's also a budget for our People Operations team to organize team-wide activities or provide mental health services in collaboration with organizations like Therapize and Mindclan.
• No zoom call Fridays: To avoid zoom call fatigue and get major work done, without any calls as interruptions.
• 4 day work week in the last week of the month: Teams are encouraged to try different work arrangements such as this!
• Informal virtual and in-person hangs and activities!

Recent projects and blog posts
To acclimatize yourself with some of our work, you can read our blog posts on Medium, and also go through our LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

The process

We are glad you’re interested in applying for this role! After each step, we decide whether to invite you to the next one. The entire process can take upto 6-8 weeks.

Our interview process for this role has the following steps:

1. CV and cover letter screening
   
2. FR Interview
3. Take home assignment
4. AAA Interview - Interview with the Founders

Note: By clicking on "Submit Application" button, I confirm that I understand and accept GBL’s Privacy Policy. I also understand that GBL has zero tolerance against sexual harassment/ exploitation /abuse/misconduct ("SEA"). I confirm and declare that I have never been convicted by any court of law and/or I have never been subjected to any sanctions or inquiry or proceedings (be it disciplinary, administrative, civil or criminal) arising from an investigation in relation to sexual harassment/abuse/misconduct or left employment pending investigation and refused to cooperate in such an investigation.

Referred by (Name)
In this optional field, please input the name of a current or past GBL employee who is willing to refer you for this role. This means they think you're a good fit, vouch for your performance/academic credentials, and suggest your name. You need to get the consent of the employee before inputting their name. Please note that this is not an exclusionary criteria and this column is not mandatory. The goal is to formalize the process of our employees referring someone in their social network.