Topic description and stories

Getting ‘work’ right is good for people and the nation. It contributes to increasing productivity, better living standards and economic growth.

One day of paid work a week is all we need to get mental health benefits of employment

19 June 2019

Latest research finds up to eight hours of paid work a week significantly boosts mental health and life satisfaction. However, researchers found little evidence that any more hours – including a full five-day week – provide further increases in wellbeing. 

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How emotions shape our work life

18 Jun 2018

Jochen Menges, an expert in organisational behaviour, thinks that emotions matter profoundly for employee performance and behaviour. His studies...

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Making the numbers count: supporting and engaging women at every career stage

15 Jun 2018

Researchers call for gender equality and career support for women in the workplace, and an end to “the doom and gloom narrative” over their limited...

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All in a day’s work

12 Jun 2018

Researchers at the University of Cambridge are helping to understand the world of work – the good, the bad, the fair and the future.

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Margaret Leinen at the 2012 AGU Fall Meeting

Gender inequality is ‘drowning out’ the voices of women scientists

24 Apr 2018

A University of Cambridge researcher is calling for the voices of women to be given a fairer platform at a leading scientific conference.

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Keyboard warrior

Many highly-engaged employees suffer from burnout

21 Feb 2018

Underlining the danger of job burnout, a new study of more than 1,000 US workers finds that many employees who are highly engaged in their work are...

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Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club Openweight crew rowing during the 2017 Boat Race on the river Thames in London. The Cambridge women’s crew beat Oxford in the race. The members of this crew were among those analysed in the study.

Prehistoric women’s manual work was tougher than rowing in today’s elite boat crews

29 Nov 2017

The first study to compare ancient and living female bones shows that women from early agricultural eras had stronger arms than the rowers of...

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Driving a car

Running on autopilot: scientists find important new role for ‘daydreaming’ network

23 Oct 2017

A brain network previously associated with daydreaming has been found to play an important role in allowing us to perform tasks on autopilot...

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Health/Medical

No evidence to support claims that telephone consultations reduce GP workload or hospital referrals

27 Sep 2017

Telephone consultations to determine whether a patient needs to see their GP face-to-face can deal with many problems, but a study led by researchers...

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Eggs. Plenty of them.

'Precarious scheduling' at work affects over four million people in UK – far more than just zero-hours

16 Aug 2017

Analysis of EU survey data suggests millions in UK may suffer anxiety as a result of unpredictable management-imposed flexible working hours...

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Action Against Hunger team deliver hygiene kits to Iraqi refugees

Opinion: Aid workers get a bad rap – but too often they’re thrown in at the deep end

21 Mar 2017

The media are quick to criticise humanitarian organisations as inefficient and expensive, writes Corinna Frey (Cambridge Judge Business School), in...

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Database protecting UK migrants in EU from Brexit ‘misinformation’ to be built by Cambridge researchers

22 Feb 2017

Urgent requirement for channels of timely and reliable information to be developed targeting UK-born people living on the continent, say researchers...

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