Dr Emma Hughes

Dr Emma Hughes is a Visiting Fellow at Magdalene

Dr Emma Hughes is an Associate Professor in the People, Work and Employment Department at Leeds University Business School. She is a member of the Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change and the Digital Futures of Work Research Centre (DIGIT).

Before joining Leeds University Business School in January 2023, Dr Hughes was a lecturer at the University of Liverpool Management School and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has also worked as a research assistant for Alliance Manchester Business School on a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development-commissioned project.

Externally, Dr Hughes serves as Associate Editor for Employee Relations: The International Journal and Gender, Work and Organisation. She is an editorial board member for Work, Employment and Society and the Journal of Management Studies. Her work has been published in various academic journals and wider media outlets such as The Conversation and HR Magazine. Dr Hughes is also a committee member of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) and a member of the Economic and Social Research Council peer review college.

While at the University of Cambridge, Dr Hughes will conduct research on the four-day working week. Her research interests include working time reduction and the impact of arrangements such as the four-day working week on organisations, employees, and specific employee groups.

Research Interests

Dr Hughes's research considers how workplace policies and practices influence and are influenced by individuals, organisations and wider external factors. My research interests broadly include:

• Stakeholder engagement and voice
• Digitalisation (e.g., AI, social media, other technologies)
• Working time reduction
• Diversity and inclusion
• Workplace conflict and cooperation

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate Academic Practice (PGCAP), University of Liverpool
• PHD in Employment Relations, University of Bangor
• MRes in Employment Relations, University of Bangor
• BSc in Management with Accounting, University of Bangor

Career/Research Highlights

Dr Hughes has experience working on externally funded projects. In 2022, she was awarded the CIPD Professor Mick Marchington Applied Research Grant to investigate the experiences of front-line managers in implementing people management. This project focused on how advancements in digital technologies affect the role of line managers and the workers they oversee, concluding in February 2024. In October 2022, she became a co-investigator on a three-year ESRC-funded project examining online retail warehouse work.

Professional Affiliations

• British Sociological Association (BSA)
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)