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Professor Sharon Parker BSc, PhD
Address:
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TP
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)114 222 3283
Fax: (+44) (0)114 222 6515
Email: s.parker@sheffield.ac.uk
Qualifications
PhD, Occupational Psychology, MRC/ESRC Social & Applied Psychology Unit (Sheffield), BSc (1st Class Honours) Psychology (University of Western Australia)
Research Interests
My research is concerned with the design of work roles and organizations to maximise employee development, performance and mental health.
Topics I have investigated include:
- Job design
- Temporary employment contracts
- Perspective taking
- Work stress
- Employee well-being
- Self-efficacy
- Sexual harassment
- Downsizing
- Models of performance
- Organizational climate
- Team effectiveness.
Work practice affects on staff
One of my particular interest concerns how work practices can affect employees´ active development and growth, such as their level of self-efficacy and the extent to which they engage in perspective taking.
Promoting proactive behaviour in the work place
As part of this interest, my current research focuses on how to promote proactive behaviour in the work place, such as employees being self-starting, using their initiative, and taking charge to bring about change.
A recent study, for example, shows that high job autonomy promotes employee self-efficacy for interpersonal, integrative, and proactive tasks (`role breadth self-efficacy´) and promotes a flexible role orientation (instead of a narrow `that´s not my job´ mentality). These motivational states, in turn, lead employees to solve problems proactively and self-implement ideas.
Proactivity
A further example of my research on proactivity is a study showing that the introduction of an advanced practice nursing role has a consequent positive effect on junior doctors´ proactive patient care. This positive effect of the advance nurse role on junior doctors appears to occur in part through building confidence of the junior doctors, and in part through carrying out routine tasks that in turn free up the doctors´ time and capacity.
Grants
Office of Employment Advocate (DP0346405). S. Parker, MA Griffin, A Rafferty, J Cordery and P Tharenou: Motivating employee proactivity by redesigning the work context (2003-2006) AUS$240,000
Discovery Project Grant (DP0346405). S. Parker (PI): Motivating employee proactivity by redesigning the work context (2003-2006) AUS$214,000.00
Linkage Grant (LP0347788) S. Parker (PI), MA Griffin, CM Mason and J Barling Unravelling Leadership Development: Evaluating outcomes, contrasting interventions, and exploring processes Industry Partner(s): Queensland Health Pathology and Scientific Services; Department of Industrial Relations: (2003-2006) AUS$255,000.00
SPIRIT (C10024003). S. Parker, MA Griffin and NL Jimmieson (Chief Investigators, Qld Univ. of Technology), PM Hart and A Neal: Understanding organisational health: Aligning employee well-being and work group effectiveness Industry Partner: Main Roads, Qld Office of Public Service (1999-2002) AUS$150,000.00
Joint funding from UK Health & Safety Executive Offshore Division and BP Oil, Scotland S. Parker (PI): Self-management teams and employee safety (1998-2001) £90,000
UK Health and Safety Executive S. Parker (PI): Minimising the psychosocial risks of team working and new ways of working (1999-2001) £63,000
Activities and Distinctions
- Member of International Scientific Organizing Committee for the 2003 & 2006 APA/ NIOSH Occupational Stress and Workplace Wellness Conference, Toronto, Canada (2003); Work, Stress & Health Conference, Miami Florida (2006)
- Reviewer for ARC Discovery Grants (2004); ARC OzReader (2005)
- Nominated for the 2002 Scholarly Achievement Award by the HR Division of the Academy of Management.
- Reviewer for ARC Small Grant Support Awards (1999/2000/2001/2002)
- Visiting Scholar, Queens Business School, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (2000).
- Member of the International Editorial Advisory Board for the Major Works in Human Resource Management series by Sage Publications edited by N. R., Anderson.
- Member of the Society for Organizational Behavior in Australia
- Member of Academy of Management
- Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society)
- Member of the British Psychological Society, Division of Occupational Psychology
- Member of European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology
- Level A Standard of Occupational Testing (British Psychological Society)
- Member of the International Advisory Board for Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (2000-2005)
- OB Editor, Australian Journal of Management (2000-2004)
- Reviewer for ESRC grant proposals 2001
Practitioner-influence, eg. Invited speaker at practitioner conferences; publication of practitioner-oriented articles & the translation of my work into practical articles by others, such as reports of my research within the top tier practitioner outlet:
- Academy of Management Executive (Vol 12, pp. 83-84, 1998)
- The American Psychological Society's magazine 'Monitor On Line' (Vol 30, May 5th, 1999)
- Canadian journal for safety practitioners (Safe SuperVision p. 3-4)
- Australian Financial Review (‘How to pick your stars’, 21 Sept, 2004, p. 58).
Regular media citation. Recent high-profile examples include citations in the articles: `Not a team player? Who is? (Australian Financial Review, 28 Aug., 2004); `Staying in touch´ (Business Review Weekly, 15 July, 2004); and `Fear Game (Sydney Morning Herald, 19 May, 2004).
British Academy Award for Attendance at Overseas Conference (1996); The Caltex National Scholarship for Women, $48,000 (1990); The Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme awarded by the Committee of Vice Chancellors & Principles of the Universities of the UK (1990); H.L. Fowler Prize for Best Final Year Honours Thesis in Psychology (1988); University Convocation Prize for 1st/2nd year Science (1986)
Consulting Editor
- Journal of Applied Psychology (2004 – ongoing)
- Member of the Editorial Board for Human Relations (2000-on going)
- Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
- Work and Stress (2004- 2005)
Adhoc reviewer of journal articles
- Academy of Management Review
- Journal of Applied Psychology
- Applied Psychology: An International Review
- Journal of Organizational and Occupational Psychology
- Work & Stress
- Journal of Organizational Behavior
- Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
- Australian Journal of Management
- Journal of Management Studies
- Personnel Psychology
- Human Relations
- European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology
Invited talks
- 3rd Society for Organizational Behavior in Australia meeting, QUT Gardens Point, Brisbane
- Australian Graduate School of Management Inaugral Alumni Conference
- Occupational Stress in Australia: Academy of Social Sciences Workshop, Adelaide, 28-29 November, 2002
- University of Queensland, Department of Management, Seminar Series
- ICRODSC International Research Workshop on New Ways of Thinking About Organizational Change: Discourses, Strategies, Processes, and Forms. University of Sydney, Nov 26-27
- AGSM Research Briefings sponsored by the Centre for Corporate Change, Customs House, Sydney July 10th, 2001
- Queen's School of Business, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
- Organizational Effectiveness Seminar, co-hosted by Queensland University of Technology & Office of Public Service Commissioner
Key Note Addresses
- 10th International Workshop on Teamworking. Groningen, The Netherland, 2006
- 5th Australian Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference, 26-29 June, 2003, Melbourne, Australia
- Special Centenary Session on Work Design, British Psychological Society Annual Conference, April 28-31
Key Publications
GRIFFIN, M. A., NEAL. A., and PARKER, S. K.. (in press).
A new model of work role performance: Positive behavior in uncertain and interdependent contexts.
Academy of Management Journal.
PARKER, S. K., WILLIAMS, H., and TURNER, N. (2006).
Modeling the antecedents of proactive behavior at work.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 636-652.
PARKER, S. K., (2003).
Longitudinal effects of lean production on employee outcomes and the mediating role of work characteristics.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 620-634.
PARKER, S. K., GRIFFIN, M. A., SPRIGG C., and WALL, T.D. (2002).
Effect of temporary contracts on perceived work characteristics and job strain: A longitudinal study.
Personnel Psychology, 55 (3).
PARKER, S.K., WALL, T. D., and CORDERY, J. (2001).
Future work design research and practice: Towards an elaborated model of work design. [Invited contribution to Future of Work Special Issue],
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 413-440.
PARKER, S. K. and AXTELL, C.M. (2001).
Seeing another view point: Antecedents and outcomes of employee perspective-taking.
Academy of Management Journal, 44 (6), 1085-1100.
View a full list of Sharon Parker's publications
Research Assistants
- Dr Catherine Collins is a senior research fellow working with me on team efficacy and proactive behavior. She is located at the Institute of Work Psychology.
Research Group
Sharon Parker is based in the Institute of Work Psychology
Institute of Work Psychology
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