My research explores how economic stressors shape the experiences, motivation, and performance of people at work. I study conditions such as job insecurity, financial uncertainty, and overqualification, and examine how these pressures affect employee well-being, attitudes, cooperative behavior, and job performance. A central goal of my work is to better understand what organizations can do—through thoughtful human resource management practices and strategy—to help employees stay motivated, engaged, and committed even when economic conditions are challenging.
A second stream of my research focuses on how employees try to shape their work environment through agentic and proactive behaviors, such as offering suggestions, taking initiative, or speaking up to decision-makers. I investigate why employees engage in these behaviors, and just as importantly, how managers interpret and respond to them, including when employees act to improve their working conditions or advance their careers.
Across both lines of work, I aim to generate evidence that helps organizations build environments where people can thrive, contribute, and feel secure—even when facing economic or organizational uncertainty.
Bert Schreurs, PhD 