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:
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.
Associate Professor Chris Wright
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
Dr James Donald
Dr Alex Veen
Dr Hannah Kunst
Dr Vanessa Loh
Dr Ju Li Ng
Dr Jo Orsatti
Dr Karyn Wang
Dr Yu (John) Wu
Dr Nate Zettna
Professor Susan McGrath-Champ
Associate Professor Flora Gill
Associate Professor Suzanne Jamieson
Associate Professor Jim Kitay
Associate Professor Diane van den Broek
Dr Shanta Dey
Jonathan Hamberger
Dr Min-Kyu Joo
Dr Emma Lees
Emma Martin
Thorsten Schluter
Dr Iain Ross
View our current higher degree by research students.
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.
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.
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 Dr Yu (John) Wu, who coordinates the series.
Yu, K., Wright, C. (2024). Mainstream Parties' Construction of Populist Discourse in Australia's Temporary Migration Policy. Organization, Published online: 25 November 2023. [More Information]
Liu, H., Yu, K., Wright, C. (2024). Precarious Multiculturalism: The Racialized Experience of Asian In/Exclusion in Australia. American Behavioral Scientist, Published online: 12 February 2024. [More Information]
Wright, C., McLaughlin, C. (2024). Short-term fix or remedy for market failure? Immigration policy as a distinct source of skills. Industrial Relations Journal, 55(1), 3-19. [More Information]
Zettna, N., Yam, C., Kunzelmann, A., Forner, V., Dey, S., Askovic, M., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Jolly, A., Parker, S. (2024). Crystal clear: How leaders and coworkers together shape role clarity and well-being for employees in social care. Human Resource Management, Published online: 22 July 2024. [More Information]
Gelaw, A., Parker, S., Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Jolly, A., Forner, V., Deng, C., Collie, A. (2024). Determinants of psychological injury among health and social care workers in community settings: A systematic review. Work, 78(1), 3-27. [More Information]
Nguyen, H., Groth, M., Johnson, A. (2024). How Display Rules Influence Turnover in Healthcare Teams and the Moderating Role of Team Negative Affective Tone. Journal of Service Research, Published online: 25 May 2023. [More Information]
Zettna, N., Nguyen, H., Restubog, S., Schilpzand, P., Johnson, A. (2024). How teams can overcome silence: The roles of humble leadership and team commitment. Personnel Psychology, Published online: 25 June 2024. [More Information]
Forner, V., Holtrop, D., Boezeman, E., Slemp, G., Kotek, M., Kragt, D., Askovic, M., Johnson, A. (2024). Predictors of turnover amongst volunteers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 45(3), 434-458. [More Information]
Kunst, H., Nguyen, H., Johnson, A., Mo, S., MacCann, C. (2024). 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. (2024). Accidental flexicurity or workfare? Navigating ride-share work and Australia's welfare system. Economic and Industrial Democracy, Published online: 16 September 2023. [More Information]
Loh, V., Hamilton, M., Baird, M., Zettna, N., Constantin, A., Andrei, D., Petery, G., Parker, S. (2024). 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]
Goods, C., Ellem, B. (2024). An improbable driver of “just transitions”? Union power in the coal heartland of Western Australia‘s energy shift. Energy Research & Social Science, 117, 103721. [More Information]
Ellem, B. (2024). Explaining Union Decline: Remaking Power Relations in the Pilbara Iron Ore Industry. Labour History, Published online: 22 July 2024. [More Information]
Ellem, B. (2024). Industrial relations as power, place and time: the case of Queensland coal mining. Labour and Industry, Published online: 27 May 2024. [More Information]
Barratt, T., Sandstrom, J., Ellem, B. (2024). Remaking the socio-spatial fix: Actors, time and crisis in two iron ore towns. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Published online: 18 April 2024. [More Information]
Rudman, A., Ellem, B. (2024). Union purpose and power: Regulating the fissured workplace. Economic and Industrial Democracy, Published online: 15 December 2022. [More Information]
Knox, A., Bohle, P. (2024). Redressing sexual harassment at work: Using pressure, disorganisation and regulatory failure to advance theoretical understanding. Journal of Industrial Relations, Published online: 26 April 2024. [More Information]
Williams, E., McCombs, K., Pillai, R., Lowe, K. (2024). CEO dark triad traits and organization COVID-19 response: the mediating effect of COVID-19 anxiety and moderating effect of follower self-leadership. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 39(2), 215-228. [More Information]
Vega, C., Billsberry, J., Molineux, J., Lowe, K. (2024). The Development of Implicit Leadership Theories During Childhood: A Reconceptualization Through the Lens of Overlapping Waves Theory. Psychological Review, Published online: 9 May 2024. [More Information]
Zhao, J., Hu, K., Tang, J., Tang, L., Wang, C., Shields, J. (2024). Does Playing Video Games Improve Psychological Resilience? The Mediating Roles of In-Game Positive and Negative Affect, Sense of Competence, and Social Connection. Psychology of Popular Media, Published online: 24 April 2023. [More Information]
Wang, C., Shen, L., Shields, J., Huang, Q., Wu, Y., Yin, J., Zhao, J. (2024). The Efficacy of an SFBT-Based Positive Psychology Intervention in Promoting University Students’ Post-Traumatic Growth and Psychological Resilience After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Quasi-Experiment. Research on Social Work Practice. [More Information]
Pryde, S., Nolan, J., Marshall, S., Kach, A., Boersma, M., McGaughey, F., Bhakoo, V. (2024). Understanding Remedy Under the Australian Modern Slavery Act: From Conceptualisation to Provision of Remedy. Journal of Modern Slavery, 9(1), 70-95. [More Information]
Groutsis, D., Collins, J., Reid, C. (2024). "I’m Not a Refugee Girl, Call Me Bella": Professional Refugee Women, Agency, Recognition, and Emancipation. Business & Society, 63(1), 213-241. [More Information]
Vassilopoulou, J., Kyriakidou, O., Ozbilgin, M., Groutsis, D. (2024). 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. (2024). Social Diversity and Precarious Organizations: An Intersectional Feminist Perspective. Organization Studies, 45(7), 923-937. [More Information]
Groutsis, D., Kaabel, A., Wright, C. (2024). 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. (2024). The state of play of ethno-racial representation on boards: A comparative analysis. European Management Journal, Published online: 2 September 2023. [More Information]
Duan, J., Kim, S., Su, Z. (2024). Gender and cross-boundary mobility preferences: the moderating effects of organisational and occupational contexts. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 62(1), e12397. [More Information]
Lee, J., Kim, S., Noh, S., Jang, S., Lee, S. (2024). Paradoxical organizational culture, authoritarian leadership, and international firm performance: evidence from international firms in China. Journal of International Management, 30(1), 101117. [More Information]
Donald, J., Ciarrochi, J., Guo, J. (2024). 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. (2024). 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]
Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Perales, F., Parker, P., Marsh, H., Donald, J., Dicke, T., Sahdra, B., Ciarrochi, J., Hu, X., et al (2024). The Equality Paradox: Gender Equality Intensifies Male Advantages in Adolescent Subjective Well-Being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(1), 147-164. [More Information]
Sullivan, R., Veen, A., Riemer, K. (2024). Furthering engaged algorithmic management research: Surfacing foundational positions through a hermeneutic literature analysis. Information and Organization, 34(4), 100528. [More Information]
Goods, C., Veen, A., Barratt, T., Smith, B. (2024). 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]
Double, K., MacCann, C., Kunst, H., Pinkus, R. (2024). Regulating others' emotions: An exploratory study of everyday extrinsic emotion regulation in university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 226, 112687. [More Information]
Orsatti, J., Dinale, D. (2024). Livelihoods, work, women and climate change: women’s voice in just transition. Labour and Industry, 34(1), 27-49. [More Information]
Zhan, S., Zhang, L., Li, X., Wu, Y. (2024). There's no going back? The influence of prior entrepreneurial experience timing on voluntary turnover in post-entrepreneurship wage employment. Personnel Psychology, 77(1), 131-164. [More Information]
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)