Work, Performance and Well-being
People spend much time at work and do so for a large part of their lives. In this line of research, we address questions such as:
- How can people's work performance be made “sustainable” so that they continue to perform well, both in the short-term and in the longer-term?
- What makes work stressful and sickening, and how can we make work challenging and enjoyable instead?
- How can leaders promote the well-being of their subordinates?
- What can workers themselves do to make their work more enjoyable, more interesting and/or less taxing?
- How can the opportunities of vulnerable groups on the labor market (such as those with a disability, young people and the unemployed) be improved?
While addressing these questions we assume that people can also take action themselves to make their work more fun, more interesting or less demanding. We investigate these and other questions by means of (longitudinal) survey research, but intervention studies and experimental studies are also regularly conducted.
Examples of our research include
- How can medical specialists influence the course of their career?
- The balance between work and home
- Motivation and selfregulation
- Student well-being
- Resilience and dealing with problems
- Leadership, health and performance
Our research falls within the UU research theme Institutions for Open Societies/Future of work, and the focus area Professional Performance.
The research on work performance and well-being is organized in the Work & Organizational Psychology Center (WORC Lab).