PhD Job in the Future of Work and Work Motivation

The Leadership and Management section at the Amsterdam Business School of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) invites applications for a PhD position. We are looking for a PhD candidate interested in the topic of work motivation in the changing world of work.

Project description

Technological innovations – particularly those in artificial intelligence - change the nature of work rapidly and transform the design of work. Some jobs may disappear, some new ones may arise, and some jobs will be augmented through close cooperation with new technology.

Are you interested in studying the effect of technological innovations on jobs? In this project, we will focus on how jobs are changing, and what the changes in work design imply for employees’ work motivation, the meaning of work, performance, and well-being. We will take a psychological perspective, investigating the experiences of change and stability by those who are working in changing environments. The project aims to provide more insight into the implications of technology innovation for theory in work motivation as well as for work design and the management of work, by both humans and artificial intelligence.

What you are going to do?

The actual project will be defined by the PhD candidate and the supervisory team and thus requires creativity, self-direction, and passion for top-notch scientific research. The research will be in the broader field of management studies with a focus on work motivation, meaningfulness of work, and technology innovation.

You will work on several research papers intended for publication in high-quality journals The research group has a strong record publishing in related fields. The final results of the PhD project are published in a PhD dissertation.

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Identifying novel research questions based on real-world phenomena and extant theory;
• understanding the theoretical foundations and prior literature relevant to understanding the phenomena;
• gathering quantitative and qualitative data to explore assumptions and/or test hypotheses or measure phenomena;
• writing computer code (typically using SPSS, R) to analyse quantitative data;
• presenting research findings at international conferences;
• writing up findings for publication in international journals;
• attending classes and seminars (including those offered at other universities) to further develop thinking and research skills;
• participating in and contributing to departmental functions (e.g. research seminars & meetings);
• teaching-related activities (to a limited degree), and the supervision of MSc and/or BSc thesis projects.

You will be working as PhD candidate (38 hours)

The PhD candidate will work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Corine Boon (Promotor), Dr. Wendelien van Eerde, and Dr. Almasa Sarabi (co-promotors) at the Leadership and Management section at the Amsterdam Business School.

What do you have to offer?

Formal requirements:

• Master’s degree (preferably a Research Master´s) in business administration, management, psychology or a related field.

Task-related requirements:

• Excellent speaking and writing ability in English, ideally with experience writing for a scientific audience;
• willingness and motivation to independently formulate research projects and carry them through to completion;
• statistical skills and command of standard software packages for analyzing quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., SPSS, R, MPlus, NVivo), and a willingness to develop these skills further.

Additional requirements:

• Strong motivation to pursue an international career as a leading scholar;
• strong commitment to methodological rigor and scientific integrity;
• energy and passion for organizational behaviour and management questions;
• intellectual curiosity, eagerness to learn, and openness to criticism.

Our offer

We offer full-time employment for four years (depending on prior education) with an initial period of 18 months, an intermediate evaluation after 18 months and a possibility to extend it for 30 months (four years in total). If all requirements are met, the project results in a PhD thesis. An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and conferences.

The gross monthly salary will range between € 2,770,- in the first year to € 3,539,- in the last year for full-time employment (38 hours per week), excluding holiday allowance (8%) and year-end bonus (8.3%).

In addition, the UvA offers excellent study and development opportunities and encourages employees to continue to professionalise.

What else do we offer?

The UvA has an extensive package of fringe benefits, including:

• 29 days' holiday with full employment & extra holidays between Christmas and the New Year;
• Excellent work (from home) facilities;
• reimbursement of commuting expenses;
• pension accrual with ABP;
• In addition, the UvA offers excellent study and development opportunities and encourages employees to continue their professional development;
• You may participate in the open UvA lectures with which you can earn up to 30 credits per year.

About us

The Amsterdam Business School is part of the University of Amsterdam, Economics and Business. The School belongs to the 1% of the business schools in the world with a Triple Crown accreditation. The Leadership and Management section of the Amsterdam Business School is an international group of faculty and PhD candidates. The project is closely aligned with the Amsterdam People Analytics Centre.

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, offering the broadest range of degree programmes. An intellectual hub with 42,000 students, 6,000 staff members and 3,000 PhD candidates, all connected by a shared culture of intellectual curiosity.