John Buchanan

Dr John Buchanan is Director of the Workplace Research Centre (WRC) in the Sydney Business School, which examines the changing nature of work.

John is keenly interested in how work is shaped by (and how it shapes) wider cultural, political and economic structures. He is especially interested in the evolution of the labour contract, working life transitions and the dynamics of workforce development. Researchers at the WRC have published pioneering analyses that have identified the shifting of risks from employers to workers as the key force reshaping work and working life today.

John Buchanan on the new centre:

By having a focus on practical outcomes the centre offers the prospect of getting beyond the transient collaborations of the past, Dr Buchanan says.

“One of the most exciting aspects of working with the new centre for obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease is the open nature of the collaborations.”

“People from the Business School like myself are in active collaborations with researchers in medicine and law. We are establishing links with others in dentistry and the health sciences.”

By having a focus on practical outcomes the centre offers the prospect of getting beyond the transient collaborations of the past, he says.

“We are interested in integrating our understandings of the evolution of work in all its complexity with the analysis of chronic disease. Can the traditional concerns of labour standards, concerns like working-time reductions, create the space and time for healthier lifestyles? And can they underpin a new, more sustainable business model that is good for both employers and society?

“One of the key insights of international comparative health studies is that the problems of chronic disease rise with economic development.

“People’s basic biology does not change in a half a decade, but the incidence of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease does, and grows as countries industrialise.

“I am interested in integrating our understandings of the evolution of work in all its complexity with the analysis of chronic disease. How, if at all, can work become a site of wellbeing?”