ProfessorAnya Johnson

The focus of Anya’s research is on the way people think, feel and behave at work, and how we work together to be effective. As the world of work changes and there is increasing uncertainty, the challenges and opportunities that employees face add to the complexity of the work they do. Anya’s research explores how employees respond to these challenges.

Broadly, Anya’s research examines the factors that facilitate (or enable) and prevent (or act as a barrier) to well-being and performance at work. She is interested in the design of jobs and how employees use their own resources and / or the resources available within the workplace to manage the demands of their work, to be effective.

Anya has a particular interest in the role of emotions in the workplace and how employees regulate their emotions. So, when faced with emotional demands (for example the requirement to be positive or to hide negative emotions or to manage the emotions of others), how do employees choose to manage these emotional demands and what are the consequences of the strategies that they use – both for their own well-being and their effectiveness in their role.

Anya also uses multilevel research designs to examine teams and the team environment in which employee’s work. For example, exploring questions such as to what extent climate and culture within teams affects individual well-being and performance, and how team members work together to achieve effective outcomes in organisations.

Anya’s research has focused on the work and team design of health professionals and in the caring industry. The challenges facing the health and caring workforce are significant (and only exacerbated by the pandemic) with an aging workforce, more patients with chronic and complex illness, shrinking resources, higher public expectations and more complex technology (to name a few). As a result of these pressures new ways of working are being developed and Anya’s research focuses on whether and why these new ways of working improve outcomes for patients, clients and employees.

Anya has collaborated extensively with industry partners, in particular hospitals and health districts within NSW and has successfully applied for multiple research grants such as ARC Linkage grants and from the Templeton Foundation in addition to industry partners such as ICare.