Jane E. Dutton
Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Emerita Professor of Business Administration and Psychology
Co-founder, Center for Positive Organizations
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
University of Michigan
janedut@umich.edu
Website
(734) 764-1376
Related Research Interests
Jane Dutton’s research on Positive Organizational Scholarship began with an interest in compassion and the difference it makes for individuals and organizations. Her research has expanded to focus on the power of positive relationships at work, job crafting (creating positive meaning at work) and positive identities. Her co-edited books include Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations (Routledge), Exploring Positive Relationships (Erlbaum), Positive Social Change (Routledge) and Generative Moments in Doing Qualitative Research (Copenhagen Business School Press). She has summarized her focus on high quality connections in a chapter in her co-edited book on How to Be a Positive Leader (Berrett-Koehler). Jane’s background in strategic management kept her focused on how positive relational dynamics create sustainable capabilities in organizations. Her love of and focus on positive relationships was cemented in 15 years of teaching an elective on Managing Professional Relationships. Lately, she has loved contributing to the blogs on WorkTies (https://www.workties.org/). You can access links to all the resources below at https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/janedutton/home.
Media Coverage, Podcasts
Why Dealing With Other People Is Our Biggest Challenge, Michelle McQuaid, Psychology Today, August
18, 2022.
Working from Home and Loneliness Come Together, Evan Ramzipoor, Workflow, October 4, 2022.
The Power of Compassion & High Quality Connections with Dr. Jane Dutton, Teacher Fan Club Podcast episode 16, July 14, 2022.
Filling The ‘Meaning Deficit:’ Why Meaningful Work is Vital in a Post-COVID World, Zach Mercurio,
Thrive Global, August 25, 2020.
Can You Build High-Quality Connections? Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast with Michelle
McQuaid, 2020.
The Secret to Making Zoom Meetings Meaningful For You And Your Coworkers with Adam Grant, Ted,
April 20, 2020.
Can You Stay Physically Distanced But Socially Connected As You Work? with Michelle McQuaid, Thrive
Global, April 16, 2020.
We Don’t Have to Fight Loneliness Alone, WorkLife Podcast with Adam Grant, April 2020.
U-M Study: Positive Co-Worker Connections Bring Good Health, by Izzi Bendall, dBusiness, May 16,
2014.
Multimedia
The Power and Possibilities in Creating the Landscape of Connections (with Monica Worline). Presented
at the 2022 Positive Organizational Scholarship Research Conference.
Cultivating Flourishing in a Remote Environment, Honorary Doctorate Lecture at Rotterdam School of
Management, November 4, 2020.
Building High Quality Connections in a Physically Distanced World, The Change Labs with Michelle
McQuaid, April 8, 2020.
Putting High Quality Connections Into Practice (with Monica Worline), Positive Links Series, February,
2018. “Make Connections Matter,” Lifetime Achievement Award Address, Academy of Management / OB
Division, August 2015.
Publications and Blogs
Dutton, J.E., Worline, M.C. & Schmid, T. (2022): High-Quality Connections: A Hidden Resource for Human Thriving and Collaboration. Organisationsentwicklung: Zeitschrift für Unternehmensentwicklung und Change Management, 22 (01): 26-30.
Jane Dutton, Small Interactions are More Powerful Than We Know, WorkTies, 2020.
Jane Dutton, Arne Carlsen and Sally Maitlis, Seeding High Quality Connections in the Classroom,
WorkTies, 2020.
Jane Dutton, Arne Carlsen and Sally Maitlis, I See You: The Power and Limits to Noticing Others,
WorkTies, April 2020.
Jane Dutton, Mary Ceccanese and Marcia Ryan, What Questions Work for You in Building High Quality
Connections?, WorkTies, 2020.
Jane Dutton, Arne Carlsen, Sally Maitlis and Kristina Workman, Tilling the Soil for Human Connection,
WorkTies, 2020.
Jane Dutton, Kashay Sanders, Connect Across Distance: Building HQCs for Remote Work, WorkTies, 2019.
Friedman, Anat, Abraham Carmeli and Jane E. Dutton, When Does Respectful Engagement with One’s Supervisor Foster Help-Seeking Behaviors and Performance?, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2018.
Dutton, Jane E. and Julia Lee, The Benefits of Saying Nice Things About Your Colleagues, Harvard
Business Review, August 2017.
Dutton, Jane E. and Emily Heaphy, We Learn More When We Learn Together, Harvard Business Review,
Jan 2016.
Carmeli, Abraham, Jane E. Dutton and Ashley E. Hardin, Respect as an Engine for New Ideas: Linking
Respectful Engagement, Relational Information Processing and Creativity Among Employees and Teams,
Human Relations, Jan 2015.
Dutton, Jane E., Build High-Quality Connections, The European Business Review, Nov/Dec 2014.
Dutton, Jane E., Creating High Quality Connections as a Pathway for Cultivating Purpose, People &
Strategy, July, 2014.
Heaphy, E. and J. Dutton. Integrating Organizations and Physiology: Getting Started. Academy of
Management Review, 33, 4, 1009-1010, 2008.bCarmeli, A., D. Brueller, and J.E. Dutton. Learning
Behaviours in the Workplace: The Role of High-quality Interpersonal Relationships and Psychological
Safety. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 26, 81-98, 2009
Heaphy, E. and J. Dutton. Positive Social Interactions and the Human Body at Work: Linking
Organizations and Physiology. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 33, No. 1, 137-162, 2008.
Dutton, J. and J. Dukerich. The Relational Foundation of Research: An Underappreciated Dimension of
Interesting Research. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 1, 21-26, 2006.
Dutton, J.E. Fostering high quality connections through respectful engagement. Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Winter, 54-57, 2003.
Quinn, R. and J. Dutton. Coordination as Energy-in-Conversation: A Process Theory of Organizing.
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 30, No. 1, 38-57, 2005.
Gersick, C., J. Bartunek and J. Dutton. Learning from Academia: The Importance of Relationships in
Professional Life. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 6, 1026-1045, 2000.
Book Chapters and Research Annuals
Stephens. J.P., E. Heaphy and J. Dutton. High Quality Connections. In K, Cameron and G. Spreitzer (eds.),
Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Ragins, B. and J. Dutton. Positive Relationships at Work: An Invitation and Introduction. In J. Dutton and
B. Ragins Exploring Positive Relationships at Work: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation
(Lawrence Erlabum Publishers), 2006.
Dutton, J. and B. Ragins. Moving Forward: Positive Relationships at Work as a Research Frontier. In J.
Dutton and B. Ragins Exploring Positive Relationships at Work: Building a Theoretical and Research
Foundation (Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers), 2006.
Baker, W. and J. Dutton. Enabling Positive Social Capital. In J. Dutton and B. Ragins Exploring Positive
Relationships at Work: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation (Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers),
2006.
Dutton, J.E. and E. Heaphy. The Power of High Quality Connections. In Cameron, K., J.E. Dutton and R.E.
Quinn, Positive Organizational Scholarship (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler), 263-278, 2003.
Williams, M. and J. Dutton. Corrosive Political Climates: The Heavy Toll of Negative Political Behavior in
Organizations. In R. Quinn, R. O’Neill and L. St. Clair (Eds.) The Pressing Problems of Modern
Organizations: Transforming the Agenda for Research and Practice, 2000, 3-31.
Books
Energize Your Workplace: How to Build and Sustain High-Quality Connections at Work. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2003.
Edited Books
Exploring Positive Relationships at Work: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation. J. Dutton, B.
Ragins (Eds.). Lawrence Erlbaum, Inc., 2006.
