Stacey Parker

I am an Associate Professor and Organisational Psychologist at UQ's School of Psychology. I research, supervise, teach, and consult on a broad range of work and organisational topics. Through my research, I aim to help organisations and their employees devise new strategies for balancing and realising the dual concerns of feeling well and performing well. To this end, I have researched employee stress, well-being, motivation, and performance in a range of high-performance settings (e.g., small business owners, professional musicians, elite athletes, and safety critical work in healthcare and transport industries). I also supplement this field research with a program of basic research in my laboratory using work simulation paradigms.

Some of my specific research topics include: how workers manage their energy during work; how workers recover from work stress in off-the-job time; how jobs and careers can be designed to maximise well-being, motivation, and performance; and I also explore the 'hidden costs' of performance management systems. Beyond these core areas, I have also contributed to other topics through theoretical (i.e., self-determination theory) and methodological (i.e., physiology, experience sampling, work simulation) expertise in academic, industry, and student-based collaborations. For example, in areas like supervisor support, diversity and inclusion, employee voice, employee green behaviour, compassion science, and social identity.

Passionate about doing practically-relevant research, though my consulting and advisory work I have helped both public and private organisations tackle issues with selection and recruitment, training and development, career management, work design, culture change, and operational safety. I also regularly engage with the media on topics related to my expertise and my research and/or commentary has been featured in outlets like TIME Magazine, Harvard Business Review, HR Magazine, and ABC’s popular podcast This Working Life.

I currently serve on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology and the European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology.