My name is Emma Clarke and I am currently studying full time at The University of Canterbury. My PhD research is investigating leadership, employee wellbeing and the role of psychological safety in the hierarchical context of New Zealand legal practice.

My background is in marketing and communications, having worked for the last 20 years in multinational companies in London, Melbourne and Amsterdam as well as in my own marketing businesses in Auckland. I am also on the board of trustees for Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, whose mission is to enhance the lives of people living with physical disabilities. In my spare time I enjoy going to the gym, hiking, skiing and travelling with my husband.

My name is Renske Grant, and I am primarily interested in wellbeing. My current academic pursuit involves exploring the impact of a wellbeing intervention on junior lawyers in New Zealand, which forms the focus of my master's thesis. Before embarking on this journey in 2021, I gained extensive work experience that includes owning a small business, working as a travel agent, and working aboard Disney Cruise Lines. My honours degree in Recreation Science has deepened my interest in living a balanced life and prioritising personal wellbeing. When I am not engrossed in my academic pursuits, I cherish spending quality time with my spouse and our furry companion, Zuko. I enjoy going out for a coffee and exploring the pristine natural beauty of New Zealand.

Kia Ora! My name is Sam Preston – a current master’s student in the Master of Commerce programme at the University of Canterbury. Throughout my study, I have discovered a passion for helping people and take great joy in interacting with others, especially within the professional setting I now immerse myself within, given my postgraduate endeavours. My master’s thesis aspires to investigate the influence of the impostor phenomenon on leadership within the workplace – where I hope that the returned findings contribute to promoting healthier workplace expectations and supportive cultures. As an undergraduate, I have completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Strategy and Entrepreneurship with a Minor in Psychology, also assisting in unveiling my innermost passions.

Outside of study, you will find me in the Rec Centre playing basketball, lifting weights, or on the links for a round of golf. I look forward to further refining my skills as a progressing master’s student and welcome anyone wishing to connect!

Kia ora, my name is Emma and I am currently working towards my PhD in Psychology at The University of Canterbury. My research interests are centred around improving employee mental health and wellbeing. My PhD research investigates the individual and job-related factors that influence stakeholders' ability and willingness to manage workplace psychosocial risks. My current focus is on the role Health and Safety Inspectors play in this area, and the barriers and enablers that influence their engagement with organisations regarding psychosocial risk management. I am currently also working part-time as a Research and Evaluation Analyst at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Outside of work, I enjoy spending my time connecting with friends, and with my husband and our 1-year-old daughter.

Hazel’s PhD research focuses on employee wellbeing and the interface with the work environment. This research pays particular attention to the role of social support as an external resource for wellbeing and considers the moderating role of resilience. This research topic was inspired from her own work experience and research interests, which include wellbeing, health behaviours, the impact of stress events on health related outcomes and moderators of health including social support. Hazel has completed two Master of Science degrees; the first in Health Psychology and the second in Mental Health Studies. Hazel has gained significant experience working as a mental health practitioner for the National Health Service in the UK. This involved working in primary and secondary care, inpatient and community services, all in multidisciplinary teams. Hazel has previously worked as a lecturer in psychology and as a research associate in healthcare.  Hazel was raised in the multicultural city of London and spent time travelling and working in different countries. Before moving to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2018, Hazel worked and lived in Mauritius where she met her husband and they now have a 15 month old son.

Fraser’s research is focused on the adaptive capacity of self-employed professionals and small business owners. The primary focus is to understand how real estate agents have adapted to changes in client, purchaser and franchisee demands caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research aim is to further add to crisis management literature through a self-employed lens. The study allows further understanding on how the external environmental factors of Covid-19 have produced unprecedented conditions forcing real estate agents to adapt. It is these very adaptations that are allowing agents to survive and possibly thrive while operating mid-pandemic.

The beauty of Fraser’s research is not exclusively to uncover new information surrounding the ever-evolving topic of Covid-19. It also allows him as a researcher, to have in-depth discussions with a handful of the wonderful business minds Canterbury has to offer. This is developing his own personal understanding of how self-employed professionals operate.

Annick's research interests focus upon European Union and comparative law, specifically with regards to gender equality and equal treatment, social and employment law, reconciliation between work and family life, pregnancy and maternity rights. Her expertise on the achievement of gender equality represents a primary reference point and has both shaped the field conceptually as well as impacted directly on policy making, especially in the fields of reconciliation between work and family life, and pregnancy and maternity rights in the context of employment law and social policy. She has also researched and written extensively on the interconnection between gender equality and a wide breadth of law and societal areas, including corporate and financial governance; international trade negotiations; diversity in the sciences; aid and development; disaster risk management; democratisation, intersectional disadvantages and gender mainstreaming.

Link to Annick’s research profile: Annick Masselot

Enda's current research interests are in engineering practice and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA).

My research on engineering practice is focused on understanding how engineering practice is changing in response to a suite of factors, including technology and socio-economics. Despite advanced in engineering practice research, very little is known about how and why engineering practice has changed. I am leading The BeLongEng Project across multiple institutions. The aim of the BeLongEng project is to provide evidence for policy and change in engineering practice and education. Through this project, the BeLongEng team will track the practices and contexts of a cohort (panel) of individual engineers over time, using a prospective longitudinal cohort approach. It is anticipated that this project will provide evidence into how and why engineering practice is changing, leading to a more responsive and productive learning and workplace ecosystem. My life cycle assessment research focuses on understanding the environmental performance of new material systems, and waste management systems.

Link to Enda’s research profile: Enda Crossin

My name is Ellen Graham and I have completed a Master’s in Organisational Psychology. During my studies I discovered I am most interested in the areas of motivation, stress, and wellbeing. My master’s dissertation focused on the interaction between job insecurity and job crafting. I was specifically interested in finding out whether individuals feelings of job insecurity impact their job crafting behaviour, if this fluctuates on a daily basis, and the role self-efficacy plays in this relationship. Outside of university, you will find me making coffee at the Bunnings café, spending a lot of time at Hagley netball courts training and playing, binging true crime content on YouTube and Netflix, and eating out with friends.

My name is Deniz Stephenson and I am a graduate with a double degree in Business Administration and Psychology. During my undergraduate studies, I became interested in the way people work and what makes them motivated, satisfied with work, and productive. My passion for organizational psychology continued after my studies and following my graduation, I started to work in the HR Department of a multinational company based in Turkey. After three years I left this job and moved to New Zealand to do my Master's Degree in Organizational Psychology. My master’s dissertation involves a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of resource building interventions at the individual level on different employee and work outcomes, such as employee wellbeing, performance and work engagement. Outside of university, I work part-time and spend my free time reading and watching movies. I also love travelling - in a coronavirus free world!

Corinne runs BoundarylessNZ, a research consultancy specialising in social science within social-ecological systems (SES). Her passion is to investigate the role of different types of values and world views, including Indigenous, in environmental governance and management of food systems. The aim of Corinne’s PhD research, which she completed in 2020, was to identify how kaitiakitanga (Māori environmental guardianship) might be supported to help reverse the decline of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biodiversity. Originally from Normandy (France), Corinne lived in the UK for 15 years where she worked as an Account Manager in the print industry, before moving to Aotearoa and returning to university to study psychology. She has been living in Ōtautahi Christchurch with her partner and two children since 2008.

Links to Corinne’s published research:

Relational values provide common ground and expose multi-level constraints to cross-cultural wetland management. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10244

Stakeholder values inform Indigenous peoples’ governance and management of a former national park in New Zealand. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00170-4

Christopher is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury. He has a background in social and political psychology with a focus on religious and spiritual identities and beliefs. His Ph.D. research focused on how religion and spirituality can show opposing effects on a variety of socio-political outcomes, including political attitudes, orientations and environmental concern. Christopher is particularly interested in the spiritual aspects of environmental psychology, and their downstream effects on wellbeing and behaviour. His current projects seek to understand the values that underpin attitudes towards the environment, the subsequent effects on personal and collective wellbeing, and how the moralization of important issues can drive personal and collective action.

Link to Christopher’s published research on Google Scholar:

Christopher Lockhart

My name is Lena Chernoglazova and I'm interested in the areas of workplace stress and wellbeing, as well as the changing nature of work. My master's dissertation focused on employees' daily experiences of flexible (office versus remote) work. I was specifically interested in finding out if employees' perceptions of psychological safety and inclusion fluctuate on a daily basis, and whether daily work location and frequency of remote work play a role in this. Outside of university, I work part-time and spend the rest of my time reading, taking Polaroid photos, and spending a concerning amount of money on earrings.