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Research Projects

Ahmed Mohamed

Ahmed Mohamed

As a Ph.D. candidate, ABD in Human Resource Management at York University, my research focuses on labour relations, especially the challenges and opportunities impacting workers in the global value chains. My dissertation topic is to explore the gendered challenges and opportunities for workers in the Egyptian garment industry, examining how these issues straddle workers' work and home spheres. Also, it better understands what policies and practices are in place (or should be developed) to strengthen opportunities and mitigate challenges. The analysis is based on mixed research methods, qualitative and quantitative.

Current research projects:

2022- Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Women's Work in the Egyptian Garment Industry
2022- Qualitative research on the factors that affect employees' inclination to practice physical activities
during the pandemic
2021- Examining the impact of employee resilience on emotional labour using the JD-R Model
2021- The impact of the extraversion personality trait on employee voice at work
2021- Working from home during Covid-19: Its impact on work-nonwork balance at York University: A qualitative research study
2021- The impact of work gamification on work motivation and performance
2020- The effect of gamification on learners' cognitive, motivational and behavioral Outcomes

Dr. Duygu Gulseren

Dr. Duygu Gulseren is an assistant professor at the School of Human Resource Management. Her areas of scholarly interest are workplace health and leadership. Duygu’s research seeks answers to the following questions:

  • How do individuals with invisible disabilities experience work?
  • How can work contribute to or alleviate invisible disabilities?
  • How can leaders support employees with invisible disabilities?

She is particularly interested in chronic pain as it is a leading source of work disability globally. “Chronic pain is a unique type of invisible disability with biological, social, and psychological components. It is closely connected to work conditions including work stress. More importantly, chronic pain is, perhaps, the only invisible disability which we are evolutionarily wired to communicate through our facial expressions.” she says.

Duygu has published numerous high-impact research and practical articles on working in chronic pain, the roles and responsibilities of leadership supporting employees with chronic pain, and occupational level chronic pain (i.e., pain shared by workers that belong to the same occupation). She also regularly shares insights from her research with organizations.

Duygu has recently received the Minor Research Grant awarded by the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional studies to explore the role of pain disclosure to customers. She asks if disclosing pain to customers in customer-facing jobs has any benefits for the employee and the business in the times of service failure. If there are any potential benefits, when would be the best time for disclosure?

Duygu’s current work and recent publications can be found here: profiles.laps.yorku.ca/profiles/gulseren/

Her Psychology Today column where Duygu and her students share the practical aspects of their research can be found here: psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/workplace-health-and-wellness

Dr. Duygu Gulseren

Photo of Farimah Hakem Zadeh

Farimah Hakem Zadeh

Farimah Hakem Zadeh

During the COVID­19 pandemic, the issue of healthcare professionals' vaccine hesitancy became an area of concern for the safety of the healthcare professionals, the communities in which they work, and their patients who trust their advice. Canada attracts many Internationally Educated Health Professionals (IEHPs) who comprise a significant proportion of its healthcare workforce. This study is a multi-disciplinary and multi-institution research project led by Dr. Farimah HakemZadeh (School of Human Resources Management, York University) and Dr. Elena, Neiterman (School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo) and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Applying an intersectional lens and expanding the existing World Health Organization's Determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy Matrix, this study explores the role IEHPs' intersecting identities (e.g. sex/gender, ethnicity/race) and context of professional practice play in shaping their beliefs about vaccinations, and investigates how IEHPs' lived experiences, collective history and the process of professional integration in Canada shape their views on vaccination.

This qualitative study will be carried out by conducting semi-structured interviews, in French or English, with IEHPs. Through this research, the investigators hope to inform long-term and short-term professional­ integration practices to reduce the vaccine hesitancy of IEHPs in general and in the case of COVID­19 or future pandemics. Moreover, this research will offer recommendations for the existing bridging programs and integration initiatives designed for IEHPs' successful transition into Canada's healthcare settings. 

Farimah’s faculty profile can be found here: profiles.laps.yorku.ca/profiles/zadeh/

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The Graduate Program in Human Resource Management at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.