Mission
Organizations can create environments where individuals can flourish by prioritizing employee well-being, leading to increased productivity, creativity, and sustainable success. Grounded in the field of positive organizational psychology, an applied discipline dedicated to cultivating thriving workplaces and fostering the well-being of individuals and teams within organizations, our research aspires to transformative change. We proactively study and advise on important internal organizational issues, such as leadership, team processes, work engagement, work-life balance, selection & assessment, performance management, and employee well-being. In doing so, we strive to provide high-quality contributions to the work and organizational psychology field across all three pillars: work, organizational, and personnel psychology. Due to the applied nature of our research, we also stress the importance of relations with stakeholders in the field, creating societal impact, and teaching students how to apply theories to real cases within the work context.
Research
Our team of work and organizational psychologists focuses on conducting scientific research and building theories (including the influential Job Demands-Resources theory and the Barriers Model of Abusive Supervision) that foster the potential and well-being of all employees and create a healthy and productive organization. Our research encompasses a broad range of vital workplace topics, such as:
- Work engagement
- Burnout
- Work-life balance
- Leadership
- Psychological safety
- Employee selection and assessment
- Proactive behaviors (e.g., job crafting, intrapreneurship, playful work design)
- Team processes
Our research spans the entire organizational system, encompassing individual employees, teams, and higher management. Using numerous innovative research methods, we take a comprehensive and multilevel approach to studying employee well-being. Furthermore, through interdisciplinary collaboration with experts (e.g., in economics, business, cognitive and clinical psychology, and pedagogical sciences), both within our faculty and university as well as nationally and internationally, we have cultivated a vast network that enables us to keep advancing our scientific knowledge in this field. In our research, we prioritize the principles of FAIR data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and Open Science practices, making our data available and transparent wherever viable. By embracing openness and accessibility, we aim to facilitate collaboration, replication, and the generation of new insights.
Click on a research topic to learn more about our research:
- Motivation, stress and engagement
- Organisational dynamics in the Digital Society (ODDS)
- Poverty, inequality and exclusion
- New ways of working
- Creating public values
- Differences between people and organisations
- Measuring daily life
Education
As a team, we teach various Work and Organizational Psychology-related courses in the (international) Psychology Bachelor program and multiple Psychology Master specializations (Work and Organisational Psychology, Psychology of the Digital Media, and Digitalisation in Work and Society). We aim to educate our students to become critical thinkers and proactive employees who will use their scientific knowledge to improve the well-being and experiences of employees at work. As such, our teaching focuses on providing students with a strong theoretical foundation and empowering them to apply the most up-to-date scientific knowledge to develop feasible practical solutions to work and organizational challenges. We integrate our research findings into our educational programs, ensuring students benefit from the latest insights and evidence-based approaches. By bridging the gap between research and education, we empower the next generation of professionals to create positive change in the workplace.
Impact
Creating positive societal impact is at the core of the Erasmus University and ESSB strategy. As a team, we share this ambition in both our education and research. On the one hand, we educate our future workforce (e.g., through the DPECS podcast, lectures, workshops, knowledge clips, and training) by providing them with the tools to foster sustainable employability, meaningful work in a time of technological innovations, work engagement, and leadership effectiveness. For example, involving practical cases in our teaching activities enables us to make students more aware of applying scientific knowledge to the (work) field, the city of Rotterdam, and our society. On the other hand, our research is interdependently related to input from society. We are actively involved in conducting applied research (e.g., with robot engineers and company doctors) for which the input of the end users is essential at the design table and in co-creating research questions. Also, within our team, there are multiple examples of active collaboration with organizations, including in the (co-)funding of research projects. All these initiatives and activities contribute to bridging and bonding between academia and society.