Overview
Background
Caroline Knight is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland Business School. Caroline’s research focuses on understanding how we can design work which is optimally healthy for individuals and organisations. Her focus is on work design, remote and hybrid work, work redesign interventions, and well-being. She collaborates with researchers, practitioners and industry partners internationally and has attracted funding worth over AUD$1,000,000, most recently leading a successful Australian Research Council Discovery Grant worth over AUD$650,000. Caroline currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Organizational Behavior and has published in several leading top-tier academic journals including the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Relations, Human Resource Management, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, and Work & Stress, as well as practitioner journals such as Harvard Business Review, and MIT Sloan Management Review.
Availability
- Dr Caroline Knight is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Research interests
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Remote and hybrid work
A core stream of my research focuses on how remote and hybrid work impacts work design, wellbeing and performance. My research during Covid-19 showed that individuals who experienced high demands when working from home, such as close monitoring, were more likely to experience increasing distress over time. Those in hybrid jobs who experienced low support even when in the office were more likely to feel lonely when at home. Given that hybrid work looks set to stay and is highly prevalent, there is a need to better understand how we can design hybrid work which is optimal for individuals, teams, and organisations.
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Work redesign
A second core stream of my research focuses on work redesign. I am interested to understand how we can redesign work both top-down, by applying organisation wide, manager-led interventions (e.g., flexible working, training), and bottom-up, self-initiated interventions (e.g., job crafting), to enable individuals and organisations to thrive. I apply evidence-based research in practice to help organisations redesign work, and am also interested in the underlying mechanisms, processes, and boundary conditions. That is, I am particularly keen to understand under what conditions work redesign interventions are effective, why they are effective, and for whom they are effective.
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Future of Work
I am interested in exploring how the changing nature of work is impacting work design, wellbeing and performance. This includes investigating how the relational aspects of work are shaped by new technologies and working styles, and impact outcomes such as engagement, motivation, and wellbeing. It also includes unpacking the changing nature of work demands (e.g., close monitoring, pressure to be available beyond office hours), and relationships with coping responses (e.g., multitasking, detachment from work, recovery) and wellbeing.
Works
Search Professor Caroline Knight’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Conference Publication
The impact of AI on frontline service workers: A work design lens
Jooss, Stefan, Knight, Caroline, Worsteling, Asha, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani, Hansen, Anissa and Solnet, David (2025). The impact of AI on frontline service workers: A work design lens. 26th European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference, Florence, Italy, 22-25 June 2025.
2025
Book
Transformative work design: synthesis and new directions
Sharon K. Parker, Caroline Knight, Florian E. Klonek and Fangfang Zhang eds. (2025). Transformative work design: synthesis and new directions. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
2025
Conference Publication
The impact of AI on frontline service workers: a work design lens
Jooss, Stefan, Knight, Caroline, Worsteling, Asha, Rinta-Kahila, Tapani and Solnet, David (2025). The impact of AI on frontline service workers: a work design lens. 19th International Research Symposium on Service Excellence in Management, Rome, Italy, 3-6 June 2025.
2025
Conference Publication
Navigating Hybrid Work: Insights on Learning, Communication, Autonomy, and Gender Dynamics
Knight, Caroline (2025). Navigating Hybrid Work: Insights on Learning, Communication, Autonomy, and Gender Dynamics. 22nd European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP 2025), Prague, Czech Republic, 21-24 May 2025.
2025
Book Chapter
Where is the future of work design research heading?: A roadmap for key topics to be investigated
Parker, Sharon K., Knight, Caroline, Klonek, Florian Erik and Zhang, Fangfang (2025). Where is the future of work design research heading?: A roadmap for key topics to be investigated. Transformative work design: synthesis and new directions. (pp. 629-650) edited by Sharon K. Parker, Florian Erik Klonek, Caroline Knight and Fangfang Zhang. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197692554.003.0025
2025
Conference Publication
The working from home transition: A learning perspective on work design changes
Knight, Caroline, Jooss, Stefan, Hay, Georgia, Marasco, Georgia and Parker, Sharon (2025). The working from home transition: A learning perspective on work design changes. 22nd European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP), Prague, Czech Republic, 21-24 May 2025.
2025
Journal Article
Sustainable urban mobility transitions through working from home (WFH)
Curtis, Carey, Olaru, Doina, Smith, Brett, Reed, Tristan W., Knight, Caroline and Biermann, Sharon (2025). Sustainable urban mobility transitions through working from home (WFH). Travel Behaviour and Society, 39 100953, 1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.tbs.2024.100953
2025
Journal Article
ChatGPT and beyond: exploring the responsible use of generative AI in the workplace: an interdisciplinary perspective
Soellner, Matthias, Arnold, Thomas, Benlian, Alexander, Bretschneider, Ulrich, Knight, Caroline, Ohly, Sandra, Rudkowski, Lena, Schreiber, Gerhard and Wendt, Domenik (2025). ChatGPT and beyond: exploring the responsible use of generative AI in the workplace: an interdisciplinary perspective. Business and Information Systems Engineering, 67 (2), 289-303. doi: 10.1007/s12599-025-00932-8
2025
Book
Transformative Work Design: Synthesis and New Directions
Parker, Sharon K., Knight, Caroline, Klonek, Florian Erik and Zhang, Fangfang eds. (2025). Transformative Work Design: Synthesis and New Directions. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197692554.001.0001
2025
Journal Article
Design work to prevent burnout
Parker, Sharon K. and Knight, Caroline (2025). Design work to prevent burnout. MIT Sloan Management Review, 66 (2), 1-8.
2025
Book Chapter
Transformative Work Design: An Integrative Framework
Parker, Sharon K., Knight, Caroline, Klonek, Florian Erik and Zhang, Fangfang (2025). Transformative Work Design: An Integrative Framework. Transformative Work Design: Synthesis and New Directions. (pp. 3-26) Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197692554.003.0001
2025
Book Chapter
How and Why Do Top-Down Work Redesign Interventions Impact Well-Being and Performance?
Knight, Caroline and Klonek, Florian E. (2025). How and Why Do Top-Down Work Redesign Interventions Impact Well-Being and Performance?. Transformative Work Design: Synthesis and New Directions. (pp. 305-334) Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197692554.003.0012
2025
Journal Article
A new model for improving work design supports change that increases employee engagement and reduces stress
Parker, Sharon K. and Knight, Caroline (2025). A new model for improving work design supports change that increases employee engagement and reduces stress. MIT Sloan Management Review, 66 (2), 29-34.
2024
Other Outputs
Designing mentally healthy hybrid work: guiding principles for a thriving workplace
Kyndt, E., Lund, P., Bednall, T., Knight, C., Klonek, F., Parker, S. and Jorritsma, K. (2024). Designing mentally healthy hybrid work: guiding principles for a thriving workplace. Sydney, NSW, Australia: National Mental Health Commission.
2024
Other Outputs
Choosing your hybrid work model: implications for a mentally healthy workplace
Kyndt, E., Lund, P., Bednall, T., Knight, C., Klonek, F., Parker, S. and Jorritsma, K. (2024). Choosing your hybrid work model: implications for a mentally healthy workplace. Sydney, NSW, Australia: National Mental Health Commission.
2024
Conference Publication
The working from home transition: a learning perspective on work design changes
Knight, Caroline, Jooss, Stefan, Hay, Georgia, Marasco, Georgia and Parker, Sharon (2024). The working from home transition: a learning perspective on work design changes. 15th Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference, Perth, Australia, 24-26 October 2024.
2024
Journal Article
The SMART model of work design: a higher order structure to help see the wood from the trees
Parker, Sharon K. and Knight, Caroline (2024). The SMART model of work design: a higher order structure to help see the wood from the trees. Human Resource Management, 63 (2), 265-291. doi: 10.1002/hrm.22200
2024
Conference Publication
Dr Who? Introducing Caroline Knight: Past, Present and Future
Knight, C. (2024). Dr Who? Introducing Caroline Knight: Past, Present and Future. Society of Organisational Behaviour in Australia (SOBA), Adelaide, SA, Australia, 8-9 February 2024.
2024
Conference Publication
The impact of remote work extent and variability on work design and wellbeing
Knight, C., Olafsen, A. and Dunlop, P. (2024). The impact of remote work extent and variability on work design and wellbeing. 2024 Centre for Transformative Work Design Conference, Perth, WA, Australia, 12-14 February 2024.
2023
Conference Publication
Can hybrid work really offer the best of both worlds? Hybrid work design profiles: Antecedents and wellbeing outcomes
Knight, C., Olaru, D., Lee, J., McLarnon, M. and Parker, S. (2023). Can hybrid work really offer the best of both worlds? Hybrid work design profiles: Antecedents and wellbeing outcomes. Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM), Wellington, New Zealand, 5-7 December 2023.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Caroline Knight is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Optimising hybrid work for improved wellbeing and performance
Examine how, why, and for whom hybrid work impacts wellbeing and performance, and evaluate workplace interventions to increase the effectiveness and beneficial outcomes of hybrid work
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Caroline Knight directly for media enquiries about:
- Flexible work
- Hybrid work
- Job quality
- Quality of work
- Remote work
- Wellbeing at work
- Working from home
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