Doctoral Researcher in the field of ‘Work-life balance and Person-environment fit’

Ref. BAP-2015-30

Employment: Full-time
Duration: Limited period (1 year). Extendable to 4 years after positive evaluation.
Place of employment: Campus Carolus - Antwerp
Starting Date: Immediately after completion of the selection process or as soon as possible
Apply before: March 30th, 2015

The research unit ‘Human Resources Management’ is looking for an ingenious and passionate researcher. We are part of the Faculty of Economics and Business from the KU Leuven and conduct research on the phenomenon of work from an individual, group, organizational and societal perspective. We especially focus on the study of employee characteristics, job design, HR practices, and labor market and interrelationships. The main topics are: (1) work values and motivation, (2) careers and employability; (3) elderly in the workplace (4) strategic HRM, and (5) entrepreneurship. The group consists of three professors, a postdoctoral researcher and four doctoral students.
The PhD project is part of the research line on work values and motivation. The project is in collaboration with the research unit ‘Work & Organizational Psychology’ from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Project

In today's society of dual-earner couples, flexible work arrangements, and innovative technologies, reconciling work and other life domains becomes an important struggle. In this project we examine the recent phenomenon of integration between work and other roles (e.g. family, leisure) from a person-environment fit perspective. We assume that it is not the level of integration or segmentation itself, but the fit between an employee's preference for integrating and the integration possibilities provided by the environment (referred to as work-nonwork boundary fit) that is relevant for the employee’s effectiveness. With this project we aim to advance a multidimensional model of work-nonwork boundary fit, elaborate on consequences (work- and nonwork-related) and characteristics moderating this fit-outcomes relationship, and examine the interrelations between work-nonwork boundary fit and other types of person-environment fit. The project will make use of both qualitative and quantitative (including semi-experiments) research methods.
You are responsible for the conception and development of the study design, data collection, data analysis, and reporting the findings at scientific conferences and in scientific articles. You prepare a doctoral thesis and follow the doctoral program of the University of Leuven. The project will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Rein De Cooman (KU Leuven) and Prof. Dr. Sara De Gieter (Vrije Universiteit Brussel).
You will also spend a small percentage of your time providing educational support, including guiding master theses and business projects.

Profile

• You have a master's degree in Humanities (e.g. psychology, business studies, applied economics, sociology) with good academic results and master thesis. Students in their final year can also apply;
• You have great interest in scientific research, and good statistical skills. You are interested in employees’ experiences with combining different areas of life;
• You have good written skills, especially in English. You excel in critically examining scientific literature;
• You are not afraid to present and discuss research findings in public (e.g. scientific conference, seminars);
• You are eager to learn and highly motivated to undergo further training.

Offer

We offer a full-time employment of fixed term for 1 year, extendable to 4 years after positive evaluation. You will work as a doctoral student in a stimulating and challenging work environment with a high degree of flexibility and autonomy.

Interested?
More information can be obtained from Prof. Dr. Rein De Cooman, Phone: +32 3201 18 08 or +32 16 32 69 11, Email: rein.decooman@kuleuven.be. Website KU Leuven: https://icts.kuleuven.be/apps/jobsite/vacatures/53251495 (Reference: BAP-2015-30).
You can apply for this job until March30th, 2015 through our online job application, requiring a motivation letter, a resume (including detailed study results), at least one reference that we may contact (e.g. thesis supervisor) and a one-page summary of your master’s thesis.