In a field where everyone’s suddenly an expert, knowing who’s worth listening to becomes part of your strategy. Employee Experience (EX) is no longer a niche—it’s a priority. But amidst the flood of HR content, LinkedIn posts, and webinars, a few sources stand out as truly trustworthy, experience-led, and data-backed. In this article, we highlight the most respected blogs and thought leadership platforms that are helping shape modern EX conversations—globally and in the Middle East. No fluff. No invented lists. Just real sources worth your time.

Jacob Morgan’s Blog: Behavioral and Strategic Depth in EX

Jacob Morgan is arguably one of the most influential voices in the Employee Experience movement—and for good reason. He’s the author of The Employee Experience Advantage and The Future Leader, both cited by companies like Microsoft and Cisco in internal learning programs. His blog, hosted on TheFutureOrganization.com, explores the intersection of leadership, EX, and workplace transformation.

What makes it worth following:

• Evidence-Based: Morgan’s EX Framework is rooted in his research of over 250 global organizations and 14,000 employees, covering three core environments: cultural, technological, and physical.
• Behaviorally Informed: His emphasis on employee emotion, autonomy, and trust connects with behavioral economics and CX design principles.
• Global Lens: While US-based, his examples regularly include insights from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
• Formats: Long-form articles, podcasts (with guests like Indra Nooyi, Satya Nadella), and downloadable templates

One of his recent posts, Why Employees Don’t Trust HR (And What To Do About It), received thousands of shares—tapping into behavioral friction between intention and perception in EX.

Why follow: If you want structured, research-backed, emotionally intelligent EX insight with real organizational case studies—not generic HR tips—Jacob Morgan delivers consistently.

CultureAmp Blog: Data-Driven EX from a Tech-Behavioral Lens

CultureAmp is not just a leading EX platform—it’s also home to one of the most comprehensive, data-rich EX blogs in the industry. Used by companies like McDonald’s, Oracle, and Canva, the platform gathers anonymized engagement and sentiment data from millions of employees, then publishes actionable EX insights.

Why it’s exceptional:

• Behavioral Insights at Scale: Blog articles dive into how employees behave, not just how they respond. Topics include manager trust, emotional drivers of retention, and feedback loops that work.
• Science Meets Design: Articles often feature input from psychologists, behavioral scientists, and data analysts—translating complexity into real design strategies.
• Templates and Tools: Practical guides like “How to Run an Employee Listening Program” or “10 Questions to Build Psychological Safety” are widely used.
• Middle East Visibility: CultureAmp was referenced in multiple EX webinars and strategy papers in the GCC in 2023–2024, especially in financial and tech sectors.

Recent must-read: Why Employee Burnout Is a Behavioral Design Problem, Not a Time Management One.

Why follow: CultureAmp doesn’t just publish ideas—they share behaviorally grounded, design-ready intelligence for practitioners who are serious about performance through people.

Forbes Middle East (Workplace Category): Regional Trends and Recognition

While Forbes Middle East isn’t EX-specific, its Workplace and Leadership section offers one of the few verified, curated EX insight sources focused on the GCC, UAE, and KSA.

What it offers:

• EX Leadership Interviews: Real conversations with CHROs, CEOs, and HR innovators at organizations like Emirates NBD, Chalhoub Group, and Almarai
• Top Workplace Rankings: Partnering with entities like Great Place to Work and Kincentric, they profile award-winning employers—often with data on diversity, retention, and employee sentiment
• Local and Sector-Specific: Features on family businesses, public-sector transformation, or Gen Z workforce trends in MENA
• Digital Events: Many EX leaders in the UAE and KSA appear in Forbes-hosted webinars and workplace transformation panels

Notably, in 2024, Forbes Middle East profiled the EX overhaul at Al Futtaim Group—highlighting the company’s move toward agile work models and behavior-based leadership rituals.

Why follow: For real, regional case studies and thought leadership that reflects the context of EX in the Middle East, Forbes Middle East is a must-add to your content diet.

Gartner HR and EX Insights: High-Quality Data, C-Level Strategy

While not a blog in the traditional sense, Gartner’s HR and Employee Experience Insights section is a critical reference point for EX leaders who want enterprise-level behavioral and strategic research.

Why it’s vital:

• Trustworthy Behavioral Data: Gartner’s Pulse Surveys and TalentNeuron database give real statistics on EX-linked performance, burnout risk, and culture adoption
• Strategic Foresight: Articles like The Future of EX Measurement and Designing for Behavior Change at Work offer predictive, not reactive, thinking
• Visual Tools: CX-to-EX journey alignment templates, EX governance models, and employee lifecycle diagnostics
• Middle East Relevance: Gartner serves many UAE and KSA public and private sector entities. Several of their 2023 Middle East Talent Roundtables focused on EX maturity and policy alignment

Most impactful recent article: Behavioral Economics in EX: Nudging Culture Without Forcing Compliance—a powerful analysis of how ethics and design intersect in internal systems.

Why follow: If you’re involved in EX governance, enterprise-level transformation, or board-level EX strategy, Gartner offers tools that elevate tactical HR into behavioral architecture.

IDEO’s Blog and The Design for Change Journal

While IDEO is often associated with product innovation, its blog—especially articles under “Work & Learning”—offers deep insight into design-led approaches to Employee Experience. The firm’s human-centered philosophy makes it a standout resource for EX leaders exploring experience rituals, environment cues, and cultural prototypes.

What to expect:

• Behavioral Microinteractions: IDEO often explores how seemingly minor workplace elements—like onboarding language, team ceremonies, or spatial design—shape employee emotion
• Narrative-Based Learning: Their articles often feature real company experiments in team trust, hybrid work design, and intentional culture
• Design Thinking Applied to EX: You’ll find content on journey mapping for employees, not just users—perfect for HR teams moving into service design
• EX in Practice: IDEO’s collaboration with IBM and Salesforce on employee empathy programs has been cited in multiple HR design conferences

A popular piece: Rituals at Work: How Small Moments Drive Culture—explores how micro-experiences compound to shape memory and engagement.

Why follow: If you’re designing Employee Experience, not just managing it, IDEO offers real frameworks and tested ideas grounded in design behavior theory.

The Josh Bersin Company: Workforce Research with Practical Impact

Josh Bersin is one of the most cited names in HR and EX research. His platform, JoshBersin.com, and his organization’s blog offer detailed, evidence-based reporting on everything from employee sentiment and hybrid work to performance management, skills strategy, and EX technology.

Here’s what makes it valuable:

• EX Maturity Frameworks: Bersin’s EX models are used by Fortune 500 companies to measure and benchmark emotional experience, effort, and enablement
• Behavioral Focus: His research often tackles psychological safety, recognition memory, and cultural fit—critical behavioral economics themes
• Accessible Research: Reports are paired with digestible blog summaries, making enterprise data usable for mid-size firms
• Middle East Coverage: Bersin has presented at SHRM MENA and HRSE Dubai events, citing local EX investments and highlighting best practices from UAE companies in mobility and retail

Recent post: What Makes a Great Employee Experience? New Data from 1,000 Companies—offering benchmarks in manager trust, career growth, and hybrid autonomy.

Why follow: If you want high-level thinking and practical, operational insights, Bersin’s blog is a bridge between strategy and action.

Harvard Business Review (HBR): The Academic and Behavioral Edge

No EX list is complete without the rigor of the Harvard Business Review. While not focused solely on Employee Experience, HBR’s workplace and leadership research consistently provides behaviorally nuanced, data-rich perspectives.

What it offers EX professionals:

• Psychological Insight: Many pieces are written by organizational psychologists, behavioral economists, and leadership scholars.
• Data + Narrative: HBR articles combine statistically grounded studies with personal storytelling, often rooted in global workplace studies.
• Middle East Relevance: HBR Arabia and partner publications bring this thought leadership into Arabic-speaking business communities across the region.

A key article: Designing Work That People Love (2019, re-released in 2023 with updated behavioral insights), which explores how autonomy, purpose, and social belonging predict long-term employee retention.

Why follow: For behavioral context, ethical design theory, and evidence-based leadership approaches, HBR is unmatched in scope and substance.

Renascence Journal: Behavioral Experience Design From the Middle East

Rounding out this list is the Renascence Journal—the only platform originating from the Middle East that combines CX, EX, and Behavioral Economics into one editorial hub.

Why it’s a must-follow for EX professionals:

• Local Relevance, Global Insight: The Journal regularly publishes case studies from projects delivered across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh—ranging from employee onboarding transformation to recognition systems in real estate and education.
• Behavioral Toolkits: Articles include practical applications of behavioral science, such as how to reduce emotional friction in onboarding, or how to design rituals using memory science.
• Original Frameworks: The Compass CX, Rebel Reveal Toolkit, and CX Gravities™ have been adapted to EX design in areas such as frontline recognition, emotional enablement, and internal trust signaling.
• Trusted by Regional Leaders: Organizations from sectors like education, real estate, and aviation have engaged with Renascence’s behavioral models to audit and enhance their internal experience architecture.

Highlighted piece: Signature Onboarding Experiences: Behavioral Moments That Build Loyalty From Day One—offering both a model and templates for EX practitioners.

Why follow: If you're building Employee Experience in the Middle East and want insights grounded in regional culture, behavioral depth, and design clarity, the Renascence Journal is unmatched in relevance and originality.

How These Blogs Shape Real Employee Experience Design

Reading blogs isn’t about theory—it’s about implementation. And the best EX blogs today don’t just share opinions. They equip leaders to make meaningful changes.

Here’s how these sources directly impact real-world EX:

• CultureAmp-inspired pulse surveys have been adapted in the Middle East to track emotional micro-moments across journeys like onboarding and internal mobility.
• Bersin’s EX maturity framework is being used by government entities in the GCC to benchmark psychological safety and internal trust across departments.
• IDEO’s rituals approach has influenced how several UAE-based companies reimagine performance reviews—not as once-a-year events, but as emotional touchpoints that are designed, not defaulted.
• Renascence Journal case studies have led to regional interest in tools like behavioral onboarding diagnostics, feedback memory mapping, and trust rituals in high-stakes service industries.

The lesson is this: what you read shapes what you design. And these blogs offer not just stories, but scaffolding—models, metrics, and mindsets to help you build EX on purpose.

Best Blogs for Different EX Roles

Depending on your role in the EX journey, different blogs will resonate more. Here’s a curated guide to who should follow what:

• HR Directors & CHROs:
  • Follow: Josh Bersin, Gartner, Renascence Journal
  • Why: These offer strategy, budget alignment, and behavioral justification for board-level EX
• EX & People Experience Managers:
  • Follow: CultureAmp, IDEO, Renascence Journal
  • Why: Focus on day-to-day design, employee behavior, and journey interventions
• CX Leaders Integrating EX:
  • Follow: Renascence Journal, Forbes Middle East
  • Why: These bridge the CX–EX gap through behavioral economics and local insights
• EX Consultants and Designers:
  • Follow: IDEO, Jacob Morgan, HBR
  • Why: You’ll get frameworks, rituals, and narrative-led thinking that informs consulting
• Public Sector EX Leaders:
  • Follow: Gartner, Forbes Middle East, Renascence Journal
  • Why: These tackle structure, governance, and EX in complex, regulated environments

No matter your title, the best EX leaders are always learning from those designing ahead of them.

What’s Missing in EX Content Today—and Why the Middle East Can Lead

Despite a growing volume of EX blogs globally, many still fall short in a few ways:

• Lack of behavioral grounding: Many still approach EX through a functional HR lens, ignoring emotion, memory, and behavioral context.
• Western bias: A large chunk of content is US/UK-centric, failing to address cultural dimensions that are deeply relevant in the Middle East.
• No voice from the region: Few local firms publish experience data or share rituals, language, and leadership shifts that work regionally.

This is where the Middle East has an opportunity—not just to consume, but to lead.

With ambitious national visions (UAE Vision 2031, KSA Vision 2030), multilingual and multicultural workforces, and growing investment in Employee Experience, the region is in a unique position to author its own playbooks.

By sharing EX wins, failures, and behavioral rituals, local professionals can move from followers of global EX narratives to creators of regionally grounded ones.

Final Thought: EX Blogs Are Blueprints—But Design Is Local

The best Employee Experience blogs give us new eyes. They help us notice the friction in onboarding, the silence in feedback, or the absence of trust in remote teams. But no blog knows your people like you do. The real EX magic comes when global insights meet local behavioral realities.

Follow these blogs. Learn from them. But then design with your people’s real lives, beliefs, and emotional drivers in mind.

At Renascence, we’ve learned that no blog—no matter how brilliant—can substitute for listening, mapping, and building experiences in the language of your team’s values.

Blogs inform.
Design transforms.