Research Report

Real estate professionals are often expected to do it all—prospect for new business while managing existing clients and service demands. New research reveals that this “hunter and farmer” approach can come with a hidden cost: increased stress, especially when service responsibilities and performance pressures are high. Over time, that stress can erode job satisfaction and potentially contribute to turnover.

Can brands really strengthen customer relationships by making fun of their customers? New research shows that playful teasing can humanize a brand, making it feel more like a friend and strengthening consumer connection—but mean-spirited teasing can quickly have the opposite effect. For relationship-driven industries like real estate, the findings highlight how the right kind of humor can build warmth, personality, and trust.

Ever feel like a coworker, client, or meeting is stealing your time? New research introduces “wasted time perceptions”—the feeling that someone or something is consuming your time without helping you make progress toward your goals. These perceptions can fuel frustration, lower job satisfaction, and increase intentions to leave, with important implications for how real estate professionals manage client interactions and workplace demands.

Loneliness at work may be more than a personal struggle—it can affect how salespeople make decisions and perform. New research finds that social loneliness can reduce ethical behavior, which in turn hurts sales performance. Interestingly, personality matters: agreeableness can buffer these effects, while extraversion may intensify them, offering important insights for managers seeking to support connected, ethical, and high-performing sales teams.

Online reviews can strongly influence real estate decisions, but they might not always reflect true service quality. New research finds that larger companies often receive lower online ratings because consumers feel less empathy toward big businesses and are more likely to leave negative reviews than the positive ones. For real estate firms, this star rating may reflect company size as much as client satisfaction, making it important to look beyond the numbers.

In real estate, saying “yes” can sometimes feel easier than pushing back—even when something doesn’t feel right. In Defy, Dr. Sunita Sah explores how people can move from passive compliance to principled action by recognizing their values and knowing when to speak up. For real estate professionals, the ability to say no may be just as important as knowing when to say yes.

In Why Workplace Wellbeing Matters, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward explore how employee wellbeing  can directly impact a company’s bottom line. Research shows that happier employees perform better, stay longer, and help attract stronger talent, with workplace satisfaction even linked to better financial results. For real estate firms, investing in people may be one of the smartest ways to strengthen both performance and long-term success.

What if asking better questions could lead to better clients, decisions, and relationships? In Ask More, Frank Sesno explores how purposeful questions can uncover needs, build trust, spark creativity, and strengthen leadership. For real estate professionals, the right questions can turn routine conversations into deeper connections and more effective client relationships.