Judith Bardwick

Judith M. Bardwick, Ph.D., is a highly regarded speaker, consultant, researcher, and writer on psychological aspects of people at work. For more than two decades, she has combined cutting-edge psychological research with practical business applications to optimize organizational performance, change organizational views and values, and help managers achieve financial and personal success. IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, BellSouth, and National Steel are among her many clients.

Dr. Bardwick is the author of one of the top 25 bestselling business books of the last decade, Danger in the Comfort Zone (AMACOM Books; 1995). Her other books include The Plateauing Trap, In Praise of Good Business, and Psychology of Women. In addition, she has published scores of journal articles, papers, and book chapters on an array of topics. In her latest book, ONE FOOT OUT THE DOOR: How to Combat the Psychological Recession That’s Alienating Employees and Hurting American Business (AMACOM Books; October 2007), Dr. Bardwick sheds light on a deeply troubling condition affecting as many as two-thirds of U.S. employees, which she identifies as a "psychological recession." Backed by extensive studies and hard numbers, she reveals how this pervasive sense of job insecurity is taking a serious financial toll on companies nationwide and threatening America’s economic future.

"A Psychological Recession is not just an idea; it is a real phenomenon with real consequences, all of them bad," Dr. Bardwick contends. "When people are scared and depressed for a long time, despair and fear replace confidence and optimism. Try running a company with workers who feel like that. In the larger economic picture, it is really dangerous that a Psychological Recession characterizes most people’s views and moods when two-thirds of our gross domestic product is based on consumer spending, which is profoundly affected by consumer confidence."

Before establishing her consulting business in 1983, Dr. Bardwick was a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Associate Dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. She currently serves as a volunteer Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. She was also on the board of Westcorp and Western Financial Bank and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Her biography has appeared in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, The Encyclopedia of American Women, and other prestigious directories.

Dr. Bardwick earned a B.S. from Purdue University, an M.S. from Cornell, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She lives in La Jolla, California.