Good Business Lab

Good Business Lab is a labor innovation start up, using rigorous research to find a common ground between worker wellbeing and business interests. We are a non-profit registered as a Section 8 company under the Indian Companies Act. We also have a separate "Friends of" entity registered in the United States of America, created with the purpose of being a a 501(c)3 organization.

How A Girl From Jharkhand Found A Way To Pull Her Family Out Of Poverty

"In my three-year-old tenure, I have moved up from the position of tailor to batch captain. Production pressure is always high but if I'm angry and yelling at tailors, it will harm the work. Maybe I already am a teacher that way!" - Gurubari Jonko, Bangalore

The Success Story Of This Tailor From Karnataka Shows Why No Skill Should Be Ignored

“At 22, I am one of the youngest supervisors on the factory floor. I am able to provide for my family- they are at least now eating well. My younger sister is even going to college!” - Lakshmi Devi, Bengaluru

What Companies Must Do To Promote Young Working Mothers Like Pooja

"By preponing my work shift by an hour, I can reach home soon after my elder son comes back from school. The crèche at the factory and the option of coming to work early - at 8.30 AM help me maintain a work-life balance." - Pooja Sharma, Faridabad

What problems are we trying to solve?

The labor market in India is broken. Common constraints hold back workers and firms alike.

Excluded Women Workers

The female labor force participation in India is drastically low and shrinking, even as the economy grows
Companies struggle to find enough workers to meet ever-growing needs

Critical Skill Gap

The current capacity for skilling cannot meet the vast needs of India's idle and under-skilled workforce
Scarce, ill-equipped workers and primitive management confine manufacturing firms to a fraction of their productive potential

Poor Job Quality

Low wages and tense, oppressive work environments limit worker productivity and reliability
Excessive worker turnover drives up recruitment and training costs for firms, holding down productivity

How are we solving these shared problems?

Through shared solutions that benefit both workers and firms.

1. Unlocking Female Labor

Addressing the practical and societal barriers women face to joining the workforce. read more

2. Closing the Skill Gap

Skilling both workers and managers to realize the full potential of the workforce. read more

3. Raising Job Quality

Building comfortable, supportive work environments to ensure workers thrive and grow. read more

Join us in our mission. Become a partner.

Our Partners

Department for International Development, UK Government

Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (PEDL)

Media/Blog

More on what's being said about the change makers, projects, and new thinking that’s shaping our world.

Why Shorter Work Weeks?

By Medium Blog / May 01, 2019

What does May Day mean to you? For us, a labor innovation start-up, it is both a celebration of the many victories of the labor movement and a subtle reminder of the unresolved issues. This May, coincidentally enough, we are beginning an experiment to address an issue that has roots in the May Day movement. Read to find out.

Why Stay Grounded?

By Medium Blog / April 28, 2019

To make impact on the ground, we need to talk to those on the ground. In this piece, we share our first-hand experience of staying grounded.

Want Fewer Employees To Quit? Listen To Them

By Harvard Business Review / April 22, 2019

Motivated by the idea of a tradeoff between exit and voice, we decided to test whether providing workers with voice, in the form of an employee satisfaction survey, could reduce quitting for frontline workers.

Let's be in touch

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