Dr Nate Zettna
People_

Dr Nate Zettna

BA (Hons Class I) Sydney; PhD Sydney
Lecturer in Leadership
Dr Nate Zettna

Dr. Nate Zettna is a Lecturer in Leadership and Organisational Behaviour within the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies. He earned his PhD specialising in organisational behaviour and management from the University of Sydney Business School, where he was awarded the prestigious Business School Research Scholarship. He is also a recipient of the John C. Harsanyi Graduate Medal (University of Sydney Alumni Awards).

Nate's research focuses on team effectiveness, exploring key areas such as team leadership, frontline service teams, and team well-being and performance. His work spans multiple sectors, including banking, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and education, where he has collaborated with organisations in various countries to drive impactful research and practice. He has published his research in high-impact journals, including Human Resource Management, Personnel Psychology, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and the Journal of Service Management.

Nate is currently the Country Convenor for Thailand at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, where he provides academic guidance and leadership to the centre. He also represents the Business School on the Higher Degree by Research Scholarships Subcommittee.

WORK3201 International Human Resource Management

MMGT6004 Managing People and Organisations

WORK6108 International Dimensions of HRM

WORK6001 Organisational Analysis and Behaviour

Academy of Management

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Hamilton, M., Baird, M., Zettna, N. (2024). Accommodating Care Across the Life Course. In M. Baird, M. Hamilton, A. Williams (Eds.), The Multigenerational Workforce: Managing Age and Gender at Work, (pp. 123-156). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]
  • Hamilton, M., Zettna, N. (2024). Building Age-inclusive Workplaces. In M. Baird, M. Hamilton, A. Williams (Eds.), The Multigenerational Workforce: Managing Age and Gender at Work, (pp. 91-122). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]
  • Williams, A., Zettna, N., O’Loughlin, K. (2024). Intergenerational Relationships and Knowledge Exchange. In M. Baird, M. Hamilton, A. Williams (Eds.), The Multigenerational Workforce: Managing Age and Gender at Work, (pp. 181-208). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]

Journals

  • Zettna, N., Yam, C., Kunzelmann, A., Forner, V., Dey, S., Askovic, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Jolly, A., Parker, S. (2025). Crystal clear: How leaders and coworkers together shape role clarity and well-being for employees in social care. Human Resource Management, 64(1), 5-20. [More Information]
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Restubog, S., Schilpzand, P., Johnson, A. (2025). How teams can overcome silence: The roles of humble leadership and team commitment. Personnel Psychology, 78(1), 67-102. [More Information]
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Shao, Y., Wang, M. (2025). Turn Over a New Leaf: The Impact of Leader Succession on Subordinate Silence and the Moderating Roles of New and Former Leader Secure-Base Support. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Published online: 18 March 2025. [More Information]

Conferences

  • Jolly, A., Deng, C., Zettna, N., Kunzelmann, A., Chong, J. (2024). A practical approach to SMART work (re)design in the care sector. The 2024 Centre for Transformative Work Design Conference, Perth, Australia: Curtin University Press.
  • Zettna, N., Jolly, A., Iles, L., Cheng, W. (2024). Building and Designing Sustainable Work for Workers in Health and Social Assistance. 15th Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference, Perth, Australia: Australian Psychological Society.
  • Maerz, A., Schilpzand, P., Kiewitz, C., Zettna, N., Chen, Y., Li, Y., Kim, S., Liborius, P., Faber, A., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., et al (2024). New Insights into the Role of Virtue in Leadership Emergence and Effectiveness. 84th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2024, Chicago, USA: Academy of Management. [More Information]

Report

  • Jolly, A., Kunzelmann, A., Dey, S., Zettna, N., Yam, C., Forner, V., Askovic, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Parker, S. (2023). How work design shapes mental health in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry. [More Information]

Research Reports

  • Iles, L., Askovic, M., Deng, C., Trezise, M., Graf, E., Zettna, N., Jolly, A., Kunzelmann, A., Thomas, C., Carr, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., et al (2024). Changing work design to improve mental health in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry, April 2024, Australia: Curtin University and the University of Sydney as part of the Design for Care project. [More Information]

2025

  • Zettna, N., Yam, C., Kunzelmann, A., Forner, V., Dey, S., Askovic, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Jolly, A., Parker, S. (2025). Crystal clear: How leaders and coworkers together shape role clarity and well-being for employees in social care. Human Resource Management, 64(1), 5-20. [More Information]
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Restubog, S., Schilpzand, P., Johnson, A. (2025). How teams can overcome silence: The roles of humble leadership and team commitment. Personnel Psychology, 78(1), 67-102. [More Information]
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Shao, Y., Wang, M. (2025). Turn Over a New Leaf: The Impact of Leader Succession on Subordinate Silence and the Moderating Roles of New and Former Leader Secure-Base Support. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Published online: 18 March 2025. [More Information]

2024

  • Jolly, A., Deng, C., Zettna, N., Kunzelmann, A., Chong, J. (2024). A practical approach to SMART work (re)design in the care sector. The 2024 Centre for Transformative Work Design Conference, Perth, Australia: Curtin University Press.
  • Hamilton, M., Baird, M., Zettna, N. (2024). Accommodating Care Across the Life Course. In M. Baird, M. Hamilton, A. Williams (Eds.), The Multigenerational Workforce: Managing Age and Gender at Work, (pp. 123-156). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]
  • Hamilton, M., Zettna, N. (2024). Building Age-inclusive Workplaces. In M. Baird, M. Hamilton, A. Williams (Eds.), The Multigenerational Workforce: Managing Age and Gender at Work, (pp. 91-122). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. [More Information]

2023

  • Yue, Y., Zettna, N., Cheng, S., Nguyen, H. (2023). A meta-analysis of the relationship between service teamwork mechanisms and customer service outcomes. Journal of Service Management, 34(5), 941-969. [More Information]
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H. (2023). Energized by the team: Effects of collective energy on leaders' health and well-being. 83rd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2023, United States: Academy of Management. [More Information]
  • Jolly, A., Kunzelmann, A., Dey, S., Zettna, N., Yam, C., Forner, V., Askovic, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Parker, S. (2023). How work design shapes mental health in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry. [More Information]

2022

  • Constantin, A., Hamilton, M., Zettna, N., Baird, M., Dinale, D., Gulesserian, L., Williams, A. (2022). Looking beyond hours of care: the effects of care strain on work withdrawal among Australian workers. International Journal of Care and Caring, 6(3), 318-334. [More Information]

2021

  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Shao, Y., Wang, M. (2021). In with the new, out with the old: The impact of leader succession on team silence and the moderating roles of new and former secure-base leadership. 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2021, Virtual: Academy of Management.
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Parker, S. (2021). Wise service teams: Examining the relationship between team wise proactivity and team service performance. 81st Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2021, Virtual: Academy of Management.

2019

  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H. (2019). Leader humility and team proactive performance: The mediating role of group silence. 79th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM) 2019 (Honoured as a Best Paper in the Organizational Behavior Division), Boston, United States: Academy of Management.
  • Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., Wang, K. (2019). The Impact of Employee Support on Employee Absenteeism: The Moderating Effect of Patient Mistreatment. 19th European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) Congress, Turin, Italy: EAWOP (European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology).

2018

  • Zettna, N., Wang, K., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A. (2018). The Impact of Group Silence on Group Outcomes. 32nd Annual Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference, Auckland, New Zealand: Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM).

2017

  • Zettna, N., McGrath-Champ, S., Johnson, A. (2017). Behind the Smiles: Collectivism and uncertainty avoidance - Exploring the moderating effect of power distance on employee silence. 31st Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management ANZAM Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 5-8 December 2017: Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management ANZAM.

2016

  • Zettna, N., McGrath-Champ, S. (2016). Behind the smiles: a study of cultural factors and employee silence in Thai manufacturing. Thailand in Comparative Perspective: An International Symposium, University of Sydney: University of Sydney.