Jen is a Lecturer in Work and Organisation. She gained her PhD in Organisation, Work and Technology at Lancaster University in 2020. This was joint supervised by the department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, and funded by the ESRC 3+1 Business and Management pathway. This research explored the intersection between belief and 'work' in modernity: how belief shapes our approach to activity referred to as 'work', why certain forms of work appeal, and the value of work to the human condition. Prior to joining Loughborough University she was a Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at De Montfort University.
Research expertise
- critical management and organisation studies
- construction of the meaning of work in relation to culture and society
Research interests
My research explores the intersection between belief and 'work' in modernity: how belief shapes our approach to activity referred to as 'work', why certain forms of work appeal, and the value of work to the human condition following the decline of traditional religious frameworks of belief. This exploration encompasses both religious and secular ideological perspectives prevalent in modern secular societies, and analysis is situated within the wider cultural developments, influences and context that shapes contemporary belief and 'work'. This enquiry is theoretically framed primarily through sociological analysis of religion, and philosophical and political theory.
My research lends itself to the critical examination of contemporary HRM. In particular I am interested in the emphasis placed on the performance of 'work' and neoliberal contemporary HRM rhetoric, practices and techniques that conceptualise 'work' as 'self-actualisation'. I explore these developments through the emergence of organisational 'ethics of self-work' and the appropriation of religious and spiritual rhetoric, practices and techniques, such as mindfulness, which have become so central to contemporary management practices in its attempt to mobilise human resources. My research also examines what happens to individuals who perceive themselves as 'human resources' obliged to engage in modes of 'working' whose nature and character is inherently meaningless, or even contrary, to their 'inner' beliefs, values and desires.