PhD Studentship - How Relationships with Leaders Impact Loneliness at Work: A Comparative Study Between Remote and In-person Settings

Do you want to pioneer using cutting edge technology to investigate how work-related interactions are impacting employees’ loneliness? This fully funded PhD offers access to a vibrant research community within the Institute of Work Psychology and an opportunity to collaborate with experts from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

The overarching aim of this project is to explore, from a sociobiological perspective, how manager-employee relationships influence an employee’s levels of loneliness. Feelings of loneliness at work arise when employees’ experiences of interacting with and relating to others fall short of their expectations. Workplace loneliness has negative implications for employees and organisations. 

In this PhD, the successful candidate will design and lead on a programme of research to study the verbal and nonverbal, conscious and unconscious, behavioural expressions of managers and their employees in real-time face-to-face and virtual interactions. They will use a range of data (including video, audio, eye-tracking) to identify the behavioural patterns that may alleviate or exacerbate feelings of loneliness resulting from manager-employee interactions. Access to lab space with cutting-edge eye-tracking and recording technology will be provided, as well as AI-supported software for data collection and processing. The PhD will therefore use primarily quantitative data with potential for deploying machine learning techniques in the analysis phase (e.g. using R analytics).  

The successful candidate will have a scholarly interest in behaviour, leadership, relationships and/or wellbeing, and an aptitude for mastering advanced quantitative methodologies.

The project offers an opportunity to collaborate with researchers at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, including an extended research stay, supervised by the world-leading expert on workplace loneliness, Dr. Sarah Wright. The student will also be provided with access to research facilities, seminars, and data collection during their visit. 

In addition, the student will be a core member of the research team based in the Institute of Work Psychology based at Sheffield University Management School , involving Dr. Topakas, who is an expert in organisational leadership and behaviours, Dr. Thomas, an expert in emotions, eye-tracking and the use of machine learning for research, and Dr. Wright (University of Canterbury, NZ ).The candidate will contribute to theoretical and empirical projects as part of this team, with opportunities to co-author scholarly works and receive mentoring in developing their academic skills and knowledge.

This scholarship lies within the research centre the Institute of Work Psychology (IWP). For informal enquiries, please contact the first supervisor Dr. Anna Topakas ([email protected] ).

This is a fully funded 3.5 year studentship covering Home or International tuition fees, and a stipend of £19,237. To support the international dimension of this project an enhanced  research and training support grant of £7,250 is available to support research costs. Applicants are required to develop a project proposal of 3000 words and are welcome to contact the supervisor in advance to discuss their ideas. Details about entry requirements and how to apply here can be found on the Management School website here: - www.sheffield.ac.uk/management/phd/scholarships