Research
We make people thrive at work. Our studies help to understand how individuals can show high performance on the job and stay well and healthy at the same time. Our focus lies on leadership in complex and digital environments, digital health prevention in organizations, and sustainable career development.
We adopt a multi-method approach, comprising organizational sutdies, longitudinal surveys, experience-sampling methodology as well as experimental approaches.
Current Projects
Short description:
The EDU-LAB research project examines the factors influencing young people's (aged 15-30) education and transition pathways in Europe. The focus is on equity and inclusion in both general and vocational education and on transitions into the labour market. The goal is to develop comprehensive models of educational and transition pathways across European Education Area (EEA) countries and to analyse how policies and investments contribute to participation and completion in education.
EDU-LAB systematically investigates determinants shaping choices, pathways, and transitions, considering structural and individual factors. The project assesses policies and investments in general and vocational education, evaluates their efficiency, and examines their impact on inclusion and equity. A mixed-methods approach integrates secondary data analyses, expert interviews, case studies, and participatory workshops. Key methods include regression and trend analysis, difference-in-differences analysis, and stakeholder engagement.
The central questions of the project are:
What are typical educational paths and transitions into working life for young people?
What structural and individual factors influence them?
How can the influence of these factors be measured?
How good are the measures taken to support the transitions between education and working life?
The project is funded by the European Research Executive Agency (REA). The project duration is from January 2025 to December 2027.
The project is conducted by an international consortium of universities and research institutions from Austria, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Poland, Kosovo, and the United Kingdom.
Further information: https://www.edu-lab-project.eu
Nowadays, there are many opportunities to track one’s activities through apps and smart technologies – ranging from simple step counters to the documentation of physical processes such as heart rate and sleep. However, little is known about how the digitalization of workplaces is related to employees’ health. We therefore aim to accompany employees in their everyday office life to learn more about their daily stressors. For this purpose, we use both a smartwatch tailored to health aspects and daily questionnaires focusing on work and well-being. Our goal with this combined study is to better understand the interrelations of physical and psychological strain among employees in Bamberg, particularly in the context of digitalization. We want to identify how good work should be designed.
Initial analyses with 50 employees from various companies in Bamberg show that digitalization is widespread (i.e., high use of electronic communication tools), that employees experience a high degree of flexible working conditions (e.g., flexible hours, working from home), and that they also face work-life blurring (i.e., working after hours, on weekends, and during vacation). Employees reported particularly high levels of strain on days when, compared to their individual average, they experienced many interruptions during (online) meetings, used multiple digital channels simultaneously (e.g., checking their mobile phones during meetings), and performed several tasks at the same time. The more work-life blurring employees experienced, the less satisfied they were with their work. At the same time, employees reported more psychosomatic complaints (e.g., headaches and back pain) on such days. Social support from colleagues and supervisors buffered these negative effects. In addition, higher self-reported sleep quality reduced psychosomatic complaints.
Further information: www.uni-bamberg.de/scrl
The research project PsyGesA (Psychische Gesundheit im Arbeitskontext; engl: psychological health in the work context) is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts (StMWK) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
In collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Upper Franconia and Bavaria, the project developed an innovative online diagnostic tool to capture job demands and stressors in the work context. Participants receive structured feedback on psychological stress and strain. Based on these findings, preventive measures to strengthen employee resources are derived and implemented with the help of an online training tool tailored to the participants' needs.
Project goal:
The project aims to make the University of Bamberg’s innovation potential accessible to SMEs and their employees. By systematically diagnosing psychological stressors, it seeks to foster both the innovative capacity of companies and the productivity of employees, while also enabling synergies through networking.
To this end, the newly developed online tool ReDema (Resources and Demands at Work) provides SMEs with a simple and user-friendly way to assess psychological demands and stressors in the workplace. In addition, a tailored online tool delivers concrete recommendations for employees and leaders to actively promote mental health in organizations.
Further information: https://psygesa.uni-bamberg.de
The Interactive Career Atlas is an AI-based web application designed to address the growing mismatch between employees and employers in today’s rapidly changing world of work and careers. Employees are seeking career opportunities that fit their personal life situations and individual competencies. Employers, on the other hand, need to learn how to recognize and leverage the potential of applicants beyond rigid job descriptions.
The application uses natural language processing to analyze users’ free-text self-descriptions and creates a spatial representation of their individual position within the career landscape. By doing so, the Interactive Career Atlas helps job seekers better navigate the modern world of work, offering them personalized insights into career opportunities that match their skills and life circumstances.
Further Information: https://www.civic-innovation.de
Self-awareness is the ability to accurately assess oneself. But how well developed is one’s own self-awareness? And what influence does it have on well-being and behavior at work?
This project investigates the role of self-awareness in the workplace. It focuses on short-term, daily fluctuations in self-awareness and their impact on subjective well-being as well as objectively observable indicators. In addition, the project examines how self-awareness affects others in the work environment and its significance for collaboration and leadership. The overall aim is to systematically understand the mechanisms and effects of self-awareness in the work context.
Contact person: Vera Hebel
Abgeschlossene Projekte
Leadership in organizations is undergoing a profound transformation as a result of digitalization. More than ever before, the world of work is changing at high speed, and companies must adapt quickly to these new conditions (Contreras, Baykal, & Abid, 2020).
With the emergence of new forms of work, such as remote and hybrid work, organizations are experiencing new ways of leading. The concept of “electronic” or “e-leadership” refers not only to an extension of traditional leadership, but to a substantial and fundamental shift in leadership itself (Avolio & Kahai, 2003). Telework can alter hierarchies and processes (Cortellazzo et al., 2019), and establishing team identity through leadership becomes central. At the same time, reduced social contact makes communication, democratic decision-making, and trust increasingly important (Contreras et al., 2020).
Organizations therefore need tools and feedback for shaping leadership in these new work environments. Particularly in times of such profound transformation, this is essential to maintain and restore both health and performance. The project LeA (Leading Digital and Agile) supports leaders in meeting these new challenges. It combines individual coaching sessions with the use of eralate, an innovative, research-based app that provides technological support for leadership practice.
Project goal
Through state-of-the-art 1:1 coaching, leaders receive systematic and scientifically grounded feedback on their leadership behavior and its impact. The coaching is tailored to individual goals and addresses relevant leadership topics (e.g., goal setting, feedback in organizations, leader–employee relationship building). Transfer into daily leadership practice is supported through the continuous use of the eralate app.
Unique and innovative, the app enables leaders to build and maintain sustainable and effective relationships with employees. It offers opportunities for assessment, reflection, and exchange. As a digital online tool, it facilitates everyday leadership while being developed and evaluated according to scientific standards and expertise.