Work, people and organisations research
At Nottingham University Business School, our research into work, people and organisations includes looking at local and global approaches to sustainable business practices, influencing policy and decision-making at organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the European Commission, the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank.
Our researchers’ contribution to international leadership in impactful research areas includes:
- the sociology of service work and public policy
- gender
- working life and careers
- international business and human resource management (particularly in an African context)
Research is characterised by a distinctive, critical, interdisciplinary outlook, and includes topics such as:
- healthcare policy/organisation
- workplace discrimination/intersectionality
- organisational justice/ethics
- power/control
- migration/collective organising
Underemployment and the lived experiences of underemployed workers
Dr Luis Torres, Miguel Munoz and Professor Tracey Warren are part of a four-university consortium that is carrying out research into underemployment. The 3-year project is UKRI/ESRC funded, the grant worth a total of over £900,000. The project started in January 2023 and is in collaboration with four city project partners: Nottingham Citizens, Bristol One City, Salford City Council, and the Poverty Alliance, Glasgow, with expert advisory input from the CIPD and the TUC.
Workers who are underemployed work below their potential or preference in terms of work hours, wages and/or skills. Underemployment affects not only individual workers but also their families, communities, unions, industrial relations systems, employers and businesses, and business models, making the research results highly relevant to policymakers and their practices.
The project team includes Professor Vanessa Beck (University of Bristol), Professor Daiga Kamērade (University of Salford) and Dr Vanesa Fuertes (University of the West of Scotland).
Embedding circular economy principles into public procurement of net zero solutions
Dr Luis Torres has joined the researcher in residence scheme involving Connected Places Catapult and delivered by The Innovation Launchpad Network+. Dr Torres is working with Connected Places Catapult from January 2024 to April 2025 on a project supporting local authorities in the East Midlands in the process of embedding circular economy principles into procurement of transport net zero solutions.
The outcome will be a public platform hosted at embedcircularity.com with information and guidance for local authorities across the region and beyond. The project also benefits from a multidisciplinary team from the Business School and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham.
Reducing work-related stress
Professor Aditya Jain from Nottingham University Business School and Professor Leka from the Centre for Organisational Health and Development at the University of Nottingham investigated psychosocial risks and work-related stress in the workplace to promote employee well-being and improve organisational performance. Having highlighted work-related stress as a major challenge for occupational health and safety, Jain, and Leka, carried out research which led to the development of PRIMA-EF, an interdisciplinary project involving several studies.
One of the outcomes of the project was the development of industry standards including key indicators, interventions and guidance on psychosocial risk management that could be adopted by organisations to develop healthy workplaces. These national standards have been implemented in the UK and other countries including Canada, Denmark and Ireland and adopted by the World Health Organisation.
Pioneering work in Occupational Health Psychology
Focus on Dr Aditya Jain
My research focuses on policies relating to mental health at work, examining the role of softer forms of policy, and risk management of the psychological and social work environment for business and societal sustainability.
