Work and organisational studies
Our research and teaching aim to examine, analyse and influence the world of work and organisations in Australia and beyond by exploring challenges around the employment relationship and the workplace. Our research themes include:
- how perceptions and behaviours of individuals and groups impact the organisation’s functioning and performance
- design, management and regulation of work
- development and support of team member and leadership qualities
- gender, diversity and inclusion at work
- the future of work and organisations.
Our theory-led, strategy-focused and policy-relevant teaching and research equips our students with the knowledge and skills to work in diverse organisational settings. We contribute directly to knowledge, policy and practice in the fields of management, leadership, organisational behaviour, human resource management and employment relations.
Research groups
Professor Anya Johnson
Professor Anya Johnson
Professor Marian Baird
Professor Rae Cooper
Professor Ann Davis
Professor Bradon Ellem
Professor Angela Knox
Professor Kevin Lowe
Professor John Shields
Professor Helena Nguyen
Emeritus Professor Russell Lansbury
Emeritus Professor Greg Patmore
Associate Professor Martijn Boersma
Associate Professor Stephen Clibborn
Associate Professor Dimitria Groutsis
Associate Professor Myra Hamilton
Associate Professor Sunghoon Kim
Associate Professor Chris F Wright
Senior Lecturers
Dr James Donald
Dr Alex Veen
Lecturers
Dr Vanessa Loh
Dr Ju Li Ng
Dr Jo Orsatti
Dr Karyn Wang
Dr Nate Zettna
Associate Lecturer
Honorary Professors
Professor Felicia Huppert
Professor Susan McGrath-Champ
Honorary Associate Professors
Associate Professor Flora Gill
Associate Professor Suzanne Jamieson
Associate Professor Jim Kitay
Associate Professor Diane van den Broek
Honorary Associates
Jonathan Hamberger
Dr Min-Kyu Joo
Dr Emma Lees
Phillip McDonald
Dr Shanta Dey
Dr Anu Jolly
Adjunct Professor
Dr Iain Ross
Adjunct Associate Professor
View our current higher degree by research students.
Books
From Industrial Relations to Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney, 1953 - 2023
The Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies recently launched a book written by the late John Michael O’Brien, documenting the history and story of the study of our department and our discipline at the University of Sydney.
The book is a story of the evolution of Industrial Relations research and teaching and how the Department of Industrial Relations became a Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies in the Business School at the University of Sydney.
“The question explored in this monograph is whether this process constituted a radical change in the philosophy or the educational direction of the group or was primarily an incremental adjustment to changing economic and intellectual environments and changes in students’ preferences. Were all the changes incremental, or were some changes the result of a more deliberate strategy?”
In 2023, the University of Sydney celebrated 70 years of continuous teaching of industrial relations. As well as celebrating our history, this book was written for the future, to share with our future students, staff and friends, the strong body of scholarship they are a part of and to which they can contribute. The occasion was marked by the development of this book and celebrated at a launch in November 2023 with people who have been a part of the history and the continuing community.
The book is available to download for free (PDF, 3.9MB). If you would like a professionally printed copy, please contact us to receive one.
Journals
Journal of Industrial Relations
The publication of the November 2021 issue of the Journal of Industrial Relations marks the end of a 22-year period where Australia's leading journal in this field was based at the University of Sydney Business School.
This was the second such long run of editorship: the journal had previously been based at the University from its founding in 1959 (making it one of the first industrial relations journals in the world) until 1974.
In this final editorial (pdf, 491KB), the outgoing team reflects upon the trajectory of the journal and the practice, research and teaching of industrial relations.
Research seminars
We host regular seminars as part of our Work and Organisational Studies Speaker Series. If you would like to attend one of these talks, please email wos.admin@sydney.edu.au. All other enquiries should be directed to Associate Professor Stephen Clibborn, who coordinates the series.
Recent publications
Nguyen, H., Groth, M., Johnson, A. (2023). How Display Rules Influence Turnover in Healthcare Teams and the Moderating Role of Team Negative Affective Tone. Journal of Service Research, in press.
Forner, V., Holtrop, D., Boezeman, E., Slemp, G., Kotek, M., Kragt, D., Askovic, M., Johnson, A. (2023). Predictors of turnover amongst volunteers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Published online: 19 August 2023. [More Information]
Klonek, F., Zhang, F., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., Liu, Y., Parker, S. (2023). The role of individual goal orientations in shaping skill utilization over time: a four-year longitudinal study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 32(3), 346-359. [More Information]
Kunst, H., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., Mo, S., MacCann, C. (2023). Who cares for those who care? The role of healthcare leaders' regulation of followers' emotions on follower job satisfaction. Australian Journal of Management, Published online: 28 November 2023. [More Information]
Veen, A., Barratt, T., Goods, C., Baird, M. (2023). Accidental flexicurity or workfare? Navigating ride-share work and Australia's welfare system. Economic and Industrial Democracy, Published online: 16 September 2023. [More Information]
Colussi, S., Hill, E., Baird, M. (2023). Engendering the Right to Work in International Law: Recognising Menstruation and Menopause in Paid Work. University of Oxford Human Rights Hub Journal, online, 1-40.
Loh, V., Hamilton, M., Baird, M., Zettna, N., Constantin, A., Andrei, D., Petery, G., Parker, S. (2023). Money matters, but what else? Mature worker motives and the importance of gender, age, socioeconomic status and age-inclusive HR practices. Australian Journal of Management, Published online: 5 June 2023. [More Information]
Mosseri, S., Vromen, A., Cooper, R., Hill, E. (2023). Between Frustration and Invigoration: Women Talking about Digital Technology at Work. Work, Employment and Society, Published online: 9 June 2022. [More Information]
Goods, C., Ellem, B. (2023). Employer associations: Climate change, power and politics. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 44(2), 481-503. [More Information]
Rudman, A., Ellem, B. (2023). Union purpose and power: Regulating the fissured workplace. Economic and Industrial Democracy, Published online: 15 December 2022. [More Information]
Belardi, S., Knox, A., Wright, C. (2023). 'The circle of life': The role of life course in understanding job quality. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 44(1), 47-67. [More Information]
Ingold, J., Knox, A., Macaulay, L., Senewiratne, S. (2023). 'What about me?': An analysis of employers' engagement with employment service providers in Australia. Journal of Industrial Relations, 65(3), 251-273. [More Information]
Volk, S., Lowe, K., Barnes, C. (2023). Circadian leadership: A review and integration of chronobiology and leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(2), 180-201. [More Information]
Choy, S., Davis, T., Ding, H., Gao, M., Garbuio, M., Hardy, C., Leung, H., Luong, T., Patmore, G., Peter, S., Qiu, B., Riemer, K., Shields, J., Sutton-Brady, C., Vazquez Hernandez, C., Wu, E. (2023). Closer than ever: Growing business-level connections between Australia and Europe. European Management Journal, 41(2), 181-190. [More Information]
Brown, M., Bamberger, P., Bliese, P., Shields, J. (2023). Fairness uncertainty and pay information exchange: Why and when employees disclose bonus pay to pay information websites. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 44(9), 1362-1379. [More Information]
Zhao, J., Shen, L., Shields, J., Wang, Y., Wu, Y., Yu, Z., Li, Y. (2023). Nurses' Work-Family Strategies during COVID-19 Lockdown and Their Association with Individual Health and Family Relations. Healthcare, 11(22), 2960. [More Information]
Nguyen, T., Shields, J., Westcott, M. (2023). Re-examining the NED effect on firm financial performance: the impact and interplay of NED capital and NED equity incentives. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Economics, Published online: 22 May 2021. [More Information]
Shields, J., Kim, S., Chhetri, A., Stanton, P., Nankervis, A. (2023). Traditional, transitional and new performance management practices in Australian organisations: incidence, coverage and perceived effectiveness. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Published online: 25 April 2023. [More Information]
Nankervis, A., Baird, M., Coffey, J., Shields, J. (2023). Human Resource Management: Strategy and Practice (11th Edition). South Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.
Andersen, S., Wright, C., Lansbury, R. (2023). Defining the problem of low wage growth in Australia and Denmark: From the actors' perspectives. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 29(2), 177-194. [More Information]
Flanagan, F., Clibborn, S. (2023). Non-enforcement of minimum wage laws and the shifting protective subject of labour law in Australia: a new province for law and order? Sydney Law Review, 45(3), 1-34. [More Information]
Clibborn, S., Wright, C. (2023). Proposing mobility visas as an alternative to employer sponsorship: Addressing inequalities in the treatment of temporary migrant workers. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, Published online: 15 December 2023. [More Information]
Veen, A., Clibborn, S., McIvor, J. (2023). Termination of enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act: A systematic document analysis. Australian Journal of Labour Law, 36(1), 58-95.
Clibborn, S., Hanna Osborne, S. (2023). The employer perspective on wage law non-compliance: State of the field and a framework for new understanding. Industrial Relations, 62(4), 411-438. [More Information]
Groutsis, D., Collins, J., Reid, C. (2023). 'I'm not a refugee girl, call me Bella': Professional Refugee Women, Agency, Recognition and Emancipation. Business & Society, in press.
Vassilopoulou, J., Kyriakidou, O., Ozbilgin, M., Groutsis, D. (2023). Scientism as illusio in HR algorithms: Towards a framework for algorithmic hygiene for bias proofing. Human Resource Management Journal, Published online: 4 January 2022. [More Information]
Meliou, E., Lopes, A., Vincent, S., Ozbilgin, M., Groutsis, D., Mahalingam, R., Rouleau, L. (2023). Social diversity and precarious organizations. Organization Studies, in press.
Groutsis, D., Vassilopoulou, J., Ozbilgin, M., Fujimoto, Y., Mor Barak, M. (2023). Special issue, Migration 'Management': Tensions, Challenges, and Opportunities for Inclusion, Academy of Management Discoveries. Academy of Management Discoveries, in press.
Groutsis, D., Kaabel, A., Wright, C. (2023). Temporary Migrants as Dehumanised 'Other' in the Time of COVID-19: We're All in This Together? Work, Employment and Society, Published online: 19 January 2023. [More Information]
Groutsis, D. (2023). The state of play of ethno-racial representation on boards: A comparative analysis. European Management Journal, Published online: 2 September 2023. [More Information]
Drysdale, K., Persson, A., Smith, A., Wallace, J., Valentine, K., Gray, R., Bryant, J., Hamilton, M., Newman, C. (2023). Professional perspectives on serodiscordant family service provision in the context of blood-borne viruses. Health Sociology Review, 32(2), 145-160. [More Information]
Valentine, K., Smith, A., Persson, A., Gray, R., Bryant, J., Hamilton, M., Wallace, J., Drysdale, K., Newman, C. (2023). The freighted social histories of HIV and hepatitis C: exploring service providers' perspectives on stigma in the current epidemics. Medical Humanities, 49(1), 48-54. [More Information]
Subramony, M., van Jaarsveld, D., Nguyen, H., Groth, M., Solnet, D. (2023). Frontline Service Employee Research: Integration of Systematic Literature Reviews and Recommendations for Future Scholarship. Journal of Service Management, in press.
Dabaja, I., Dinale, D., Gulesserian, L., Wright, C. (2023). 'Work not as usual': work and industrial relations in a post-COVID world. Labour and Industry, 33(1), 1-10. [More Information]
Wright, C. (2023). Addressing problems for labour not problems of labour: the need for a paradigm shift in work and industrial relations policy. Labour and Industry, 33(1), 11-21. [More Information]
Andersen, S., Wright, C., Lansbury, R. (2023). Defining the problem of low wage growth in Australia and Denmark: From the actors' perspectives. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 29(2), 177-194. [More Information]
Boucher, A., Wright, C. (2023). Hard Exterior, Soft Interior: Skill Regulation and Employer Control over Migrant Worker Selection Policy in Australia. Industrial Law Journal, first online. [More Information]
Arnholtz, J., Wright, C. (2023). Labor Migration as a Source of Institutional Change: Danish and Australian Construction Sectors Compared. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 76(3), 532-555. [More Information]
Yu, K., Wright, C. (2023). Mainstream Parties' Construction of Populist Discourse in Australia's Temporary Migration Policy. Organization, Published online: 25 November 2023. [More Information]
Wright, C., McLaughlin, C. (2023). Short-term fix or remedy for market failure? Immigration policy as a distinct source of skills. Industrial Relations Journal, Published online: 5 September 2023. [More Information]
Donald, J., Ciarrochi, J., Guo, J. (2023). Connected or Cutoff? A 4-Year Longitudinal Study of the Links Between Adolescents' Compulsive Internet Use and Social Support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Published online: 9 November 2022. [More Information]
Chang, D., Donald, J., Whitney, J., Miao, I., Sahdra, B. (2023). Does Mindfulness Improve Intergroup Bias, Internalized Bias, and Anti-Bias Outcomes?: A Meta-Analysis of the Evidence and Agenda for Future Research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Published online: 29 June 2023. [More Information]
Marsh, H., Ludtke, O., Pekrun, R., Parker, P., Murayama, K., Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Dicke, T., Donald, J., Morin, A. (2023). School leaders' self-efficacy and job satisfaction over nine annual waves: A substantive-methodological synergy juxtaposing competing models of directional ordering. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 73, 102170. [More Information]
Marsh, H., Lüdtke, O., Pekrun, R., Parker, P., Murayama, K., Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Dicke, T., Donald, J., Morin, A. (2023). School leaders’ self-efficacy and job satisfaction over nine annual waves: A substantive-methodological synergy juxtaposing competing models of directional ordering. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 73. [More Information]
Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Perales, F., Parker, P., Marsh, H., Donald, J., Dicke, T., Sahdra, B., Ciarrochi, J., Hu, X., et al (2023). The Equality Paradox: Gender Equality Intensifies Male Advantages in Adolescent Subjective Well-Being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Published online: 7 October 2022. [More Information]
Goods, C., Veen, A., Barratt, T., Smith, B. (2023). Power resources for disempowered workers? Re-conceptualizing the power and potential of consumers in app-based food delivery. Industrial Relations, Published online: 17 July 2023. [More Information]
Patmore, G., Westcott, M. (2023). Co-operative Education: The Credit Union Foundation of Australia Development Education Program 1991-2013. Labour History, 124(1), 191-215. [More Information]
Patmore, G., Westcott, M. (2023). Co-operative Education: The Credit Union Foundation of Australia Development Education Program 1991-2013. Labour History, 124(1), 191-215. [More Information]
Download the list of publications (pdf, 255KB)
Recent Grants
- Managing retirement: The transition from full time work to retirement, Baird M, Sydney Business School/Business School Pilot Research Grant
- NSW Government Graduate Program: Understanding the experiences and aspirations of Digital and Engineering program participants, Cooper R, NSW Public Service Commission/Prequalification Scheme: Performance and Management Services
- Creating sustainable employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, Knox A, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Projects (LP)
- 2023 SOAR - Angela Knox, Knox A, DVC Research/SOAR Prizes
- Direct Air Capture and the initiation of a national alliance on carbon drawdown, D'Alessandro D, Moore K, Schlosberg D, Tattersall A, Wenger S, Wright C, University of Sydney/Industry Collaboration Program
- When, why, and how well do we regulate other peoples emotions, MacCann C, Pinkus R, Nguyen H, Johnson A, Niven K, Gross J, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)
- Enhancing Healthcare Access for People with Communication Disabilities, Dennis S, McAllister S, Johnson A, Ng J, Brunner M, Elbourn E, Nisbet G, Rietdijk R, Togher L, National Disability Insurance Agency/Mainstream Capacity Building (MCB) Grant Round
- Women's Working Futures Program of Research, Cooper R, Hill E, Vromen A, Baird M, Probyn E, DVC Research/Sydney Research Excellence Initiative 2020 (SREI)
- Creating Sustainable Employment Pathways for Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Groups, Ingold, J, Knox A, Fatouros S, Crichton E, Molaeb H, Fowkes L, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Projects (LP)
- Algorithmic management and the future of work: lessons from the gig economy, Veen A. Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
- The Role of Middle Managers in Progressing Gender Equity in the Public Sector, Cooper R, Colley L, Baird M, O'Donnell M, Blackman D, Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)/Research Support
- Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in hyper-masculine jobs, Cooper R, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Future Fellowships (FT)
- Designing Gender Equality into the Future of Work, Cooper R, Vromen A, Foley M, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Linkage Projects (LP)
- Climate, Work, Community and Just Transition, Ellem B, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU)/Client Commissioned Research
- Employers perspective: New understandings of employment law non-compliance, Clibborn S, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
- Grandparent childcare: negotiating work and care across generations., Hamilton M, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)
- Buy or Build Employer Strategies for Developing a Skilled Workforce, Wright C, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)
- Women in the Tasmanian State Service Career Narratives Project, Williamson S, Foley M, Blackman D, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmania/Women in the Tasmanian State Service Award