Douglas A. Fraser Center Awards Recipients Announced for 2023-2024
Three faculty members from the Mike Ilitch School of Business were selected as distinguished recipients of the Douglas A. Fraser Center research grants, given in recognition of exceptional contributions in the fields of labor studies and workplace issues.
Xing Liu and Carrie Zhang, Assistant Professors of Management, and Information Systems at the Mike Ilitch School of Business, were awarded for their project "The Unintentional Consequences of Supervisor Work-Family Support: A Multi-Study Exploration Using Mixed Methods." "Our study aims to unpack how employees make sense of the rationale behind work-life practices and which actors receive credit or blame for their implementation," explains Liu. By understanding these dynamics better, we can enhance our understanding of the effectiveness and impact of work-life practices."
Zhang adds that "This research project seeks to bridge the gap between organizations' implementation of work-life practices and employees' perceptions of their intention and effectiveness. We believe that by comprehensively exploring the unintended consequences, we can provide valuable insights for organizations striving to improve work-life balance for their employees."
Assistant professor of management Matt Piszczek received his award for his project "Who Gets the Credit and Who Gets the Blame? Making Sense of Employee Work-Nonwork Balance Satisfaction Attributions." Piszczek's research focuses on understanding how employees perceive and attribute credit or blame for work-nonwork balance practices implemented by organizations. "I am honored to receive the grant and that the Fraser Center sees potential in the project. Without this support, it would be much harder to continue working toward my goal of making work better for workers and to share this research with the world," Expresses Piszczek.
These grants will provide crucial resources to facilitate participant recruitment, support travel to conferences and enable the scholars to present their findings to a wider audience.
-Fahmida Khanom