Emma Hughes

Contact: [email protected]

I am a Senior Lecturer in Employment Studies in the Employment Relations, HRM and Labour Law subject group in the People, Management and Organisation division in Alliance Manchester Business School. Prior to joining AMBS, I worked as a Senior Lecturer in HRM at Leeds University Business School (2023-2025) and a lecturer in HRM at the University of Liverpool Management School. 

Externally, I am Associate Editor of Employee Relations: The International Journal and Gender, Work and Organization. I am also an editorial board member of the Work, Employment and Society journal and Journal of Management Studies.

I am Associate Fellow of the Digital Futures of Work Research Centre (DIGIT) and have a keen interest in the future of work. I was awarded the 'CIPD Professor Mick Marchington Applied Research grant' in 2022 to examine the experiences of front-line managers in enacting HRM. This project included a focus on how advancement in digital technologies is impacting the role of line managers and the workers they manage. The project ran until February 2024.

In October 2022, I became a co-investigator on a 3-year ESRC-funded project examining online retail warehouse work.

In 2024, I started working on a project about the impact of digital technologies in the creative industries. 

Related to the future of work, I also have a keen interest in working time reduction, for example, a 4-day working week. I am interested in how working time reduction arrangements impact organisations and employees, including specific groups of workers. 

Research interests

My research considers how workplace policies and practices influence and are influenced by individuals, organizations and wider external factors. My research interests broadly include: 

1. Stakeholder engagement and voice
2. Diversity and inclusion 
3. Digitalization (e.g., AI, social media, other technologies)
4. Working time reduction
5. Workplace conflict and cooperation
6. Migration