Associate Professor · USC Marshall School of Business
Founder · Crucible Cases ↗How people rise, adapt, and thrive at work.
Eric Anicich studies how people navigate organizational hierarchies, adapt to the changing nature of work, and sustain motivation and well-being in complex environments.
As featured in
Founder of Crucible Cases
Crucible Cases is an interactive simulation platform that transforms traditional business cases into immersive management experiences. Students step into the role of a decision-maker and engage—by voice or text—with AI stakeholders who have their own objectives, perspectives, and incentives. Rather than analyzing decisions with the benefit of hindsight, they gather information, navigate competing interests, and make consequential choices while uncertainty remains. Instructors can follow conversations and decisions in real time through a live dashboard and generate presentation-ready debriefs with class analytics, discussion questions, and instructor notes in a single click. Grounded in decades of research on experiential learning, deliberate practice, reflection, and feedback, Crucible Cases extends the case method beyond discussion, giving students authentic opportunities to develop the judgment, communication, and decision-making skills required of effective managers.
Explore Crucible Cases ↗
Media Coverage
Interviews, commentary, and reporting that features Eric or discusses his research.
All Media Coverage
Workplace Jargon Reflects Changing Power Dynamics
NPR Marketplace
Radio Interview
Dry Promotions: More Work, Same Pay
KTVU Fox 2 News
TV Interview
Why Corporate Jargon Never Seems to Go Away
NPR · All Things Considered
Radio Interview
The Best Office Designs to Lure Back Remote Workers
The Wall Street Journal
Quoted
Buying Wins in Sports — and the AI Talent Wars
NPR Marketplace
Radio Interview
Quiet Quitting, RTO, Coffee Badging: What Workplace Vocabulary Reveals
Los Angeles Times
Quoted
How to Make the Hybrid Workforce Model Work
Financial Times
Quoted
What Himalayan Mountain Climbers Can Teach Us About Office Hierarchy
Fast Company
Quoted
How Senior Leaders Can Build Their Influence
Harvard Business Review
Quoted
What Military Doctors Can Teach Us About Power in the United States
Los Angeles Times
Quoted
What Californians Are Most Worried About in the State's Direction
AirTalk with Larry Mantle
Radio Interview
Dehumanization Is a Feature of Gig Work, Not a Bug
Work for Humans
Podcast Interview
Dart Lindsley & Eric Anicich on Reimagining Work
The Stakeholder Podcast (w/ Ed Freeman)
Podcast Interview
The Case for Corporate Jargon
CBC Radio · Cost of Living
Radio Interview
Podcasting Like a Boss! (Episode 67)
Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone
Podcast Interview
More Work, Same Salary: How to Respond to a 'Dry Promotion'
USA Today
Quoted
The Workers Quitting Over Return-to-Office Policies
BBC Worklife
Quoted
Is It Up to Employees to Fix the Remote-Work Promotion Gap?
BBC Worklife
Quoted
Why We All Hate Corporate Jargon — But Still Use It
National Geographic
Quoted
Trust in CEOs Has Fallen During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Report Says
Los Angeles Times
Quoted
How to Restore Your Sense of Control When You Feel Powerless
BBC Worklife
Quoted
How Managers Can Reduce Burnout and Make Work Energizing
Business Insider
Quoted
From ALICEs to DINKs: Your Complete Guide to America's Weird New Tribes
Business Insider
Quoted
The Script to Ask Your Micromanaging Boss for More Autonomy at Work
Business Insider
Quoted
New Research: Jargon Is a Sign of Insecurity, Not Smarts
Inc.
Quoted
How Workplace Design Is Evolving to Foster More Meaningful Team Interactions
CEO Magazine
Quoted
Researcher Claims to Have Answer to Negative Citations
Times Higher Education
Quoted
The Hybrid Hitch
Korn Ferry Briefings Magazine
Quoted
How to Make Your Decentralized Organization Work for You
Decrypt
Quoted
Summit or Death!
Outside Magazine
Quoted
Making the Most of the Middle
Staples Worklife Magazine
Quoted
The Pros and Cons of Collaboration
The Economist
Reference to Research
The Buzz Over Annoying Corporate Buzzwords
CBS Sunday Morning
Reference to Research
The Hidden Currency of Office Life
The Economist
Reference to Research
People Who Keep Company Secrets Find More Meaning at Work
Harvard Business Review
Reference to Research
Homecomings Used to Feel Special. But That Was Before We Spent All Our Time at Home
The Washington Post
Reference to Research
Why ‘Healthy Neurotics’ Can Thrive in Stressful Times
BBC Worklife
Reference to Research
On the Brighter Side of the Pandemic: We Are More Adaptive Than We Think, Study Suggests
Forbes
Reference to Research
Why Simple Is Smart
The Atlantic
Reference to Research
The Mortifying Reason We Will Never Give Up Office Jargon
Financial Times
Reference to Research
People Who Sound Smart Do 7 Things When Talking to Others, Say Communication Experts
CNBC
Reference to Research
Feeling Inferior? You're More Likely to Use Jargon, Study Says
CBC · As It Happens
Reference to Research
Why Complex Language Is a Sign of Inferiority
The Times
Reference to Research
(Toxic) Leadership Lessons From the Show “Succession”—And How You Can Do Better
Forbes
Reference to Research
A New Viral Tool Is Mocking Corporate Buzzwords — And Honestly, It’s Spot-On
HuffPost
Reference to Research
The Return-to-Office Compromise Between Workers and Bosses Created a Nightmare for Middle Managers
Fortune
Reference to Research
Middle Managers Feel Trapped in the Return-to-Office War
Fortune
Reference to Research
Why Middle Managers Are Key for Creating Inclusive Cultures
Forbes
Reference to Research
Why Middle Managers Need a Hug
Forbes
Reference to Research
3 Ways Leaders Can Help Middle Managers Get Better at Feedback
Inc.
Reference to Research
How to Succeed in the Messy Middle: Managing Up, Down and Across
Forbes
Reference to Research
3 Excellent Problem Statement Examples
Entrepreneur
Reference to Research
A Manager’s Guide to Handling Crises
The Economist
Reference to Research
Need Superstar Employees on Your Team? Depending on the Situation, Science Says Don’t Hire Too Many
Inc.
Reference to Research
Hillary Clinton’s Talent Problem
CNN
Reference to Research
Love Hurts? The Cavs Might Be Too Good for Their Own Good
Sports Illustrated
Reference to Research
Yes, You Can Be Too Talented for Your Job
TIME
Reference to Research
A Tipping Point for Too Much Talent
The New York Times
Reference to Research
The Fault in Our Stars
The Wall Street Journal
Reference to Research
A Nazi Controversy Deep in the Solar System
The Atlantic
Reference to Research
Meet the New Bitch: The Curious Evolution of a Slur
The Atlantic
Reference to Research
David Bouhadana Has a Problem, and We Need to Talk About It
Eater
Reference to Research
The Boss Stops Here
New York Magazine
Reference to Research
Why Office Hierarchies Are Good for Business
Inc.
Reference to Research
Researchers Put Hierarchies Through the Himalayan Test
The Wall Street Journal
Reference to Research
Public Writing
Research-informed articles and opinion essays written for leaders and broader audiences.
All Public Writing
Why Employees Aren't Transparent About Their AI Usage
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Reimagining Work as a Product
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
The Challenges of Becoming a Less Hierarchical Company
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Why Being a Middle Manager Is So Exhausting
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Colleges Oversold Education. Now They Must Sell Connection
Los Angeles Times
Op-Ed
Research: How Keeping Organizational Secrets Impacts Employees
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
We're Headed for a Great Gig Divide. Here's Why We Should Be Worried
Newsweek
Op-Ed
Dehumanization Is a Feature of Gig Work, Not a Bug
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Research: More Powerful People Express Less Gratitude
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
When Your Authority Fluctuates Throughout the Day
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Design Physical and Digital Spaces to Foster Inclusion
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Does Your Office Have a Jargon Problem?
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Restore Your Sense of Control — Despite the Pandemic
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
How Powerful, Low-Status Jobs Lead to Conflict
Harvard Business Review
Published Article
Academic Publications
Peer-reviewed scholarship on how people navigate organizational hierarchies, adapt to the changing nature of work, and sustain motivation and well-being in complex environments.
All Academic Publications
Teaching
Courses taught at USC across undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.
All Courses