Dr Gemma Wibberley
Gemma is an experienced researcher, focussing on employee wellbeing and contemporary experiences of work. As the coordinator of iROWE ( Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment), Gemma believes strongly in building networks across academia, policy and practice. She also teaches and supervises postgraduate projects on workplace issues.
Gemma is an experienced researcher, having worked as a researcher in both private and public sector before joining UCLan.
Her research focuses on employee wellbeing and contemporary experiences of work. Projects have included: workplace conflict, employee engagement and entrepreneurship.
Gemma has a keen interest in gender and work. She is currently researching domestic abuse in the workplace, and returning to work after caring responsibilities.
As the coordinator of iROWE ( Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment), Gemma believes strongly in building networks across academia, policy and practice to enhance working lives, and regularly hosts events to facilitate this at iROWE. . iROWE is also recognised for its ability to influence employment policy and practice with a 4* impact case study in REF2014. Please get in touch with Gemma for further details about iROWE.
Gemma is also an accredited workplace mediator, having received her Acas Certificate in Internal Workplace Mediation. She was also the 2018 Winner of the ‘Most Inspiring Female Member of Staff’ Award, School of Business.
She is a member of the 'Lancashire Research Institute of Citizenship, Society and Change', the 'Criminal Justice Partnership' and 'The UCLan Centre for Business, Management & Enterprise'.
In iROWE, Gemma works on an array of research projects exploring domestic abuse at work, individual workplace conflict, trade union activities, workplace inequalities and other contemporary employment issues. In general Gemma is interested in employees’ experiences at work, and undertook a PhD on the role of domiciliary care workers at Lancaster University. Previous research before joining UCLan has focused on occupational segregation, and dignity at work.
She has published and presented widely on workplace issues and is regularly an invited speaker. Her research features in academic, practitioner and policy spaces.
- PhD "The invisibility and complexity of Domiciliary Carers' work, around, in and out of their labour process", ESRC Scholarship, Lancaster University, 2011
- MA Human Resources and Knowledge Management, ESRC Scholarship, Lancaster University, 2007
- BSc(Hons) Marketing Management, Lancaster University, 2004
- •Winner of the ‘Most Inspiring Female Member of Staff’ Award, 2018
- ‘Outstanding Paper in the 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence’for Willcocks, S. and Wibberley, G (2015),‘Exploring a shared leadership perspective for NHS doctors’ Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 28 Iss: 4, pp.345 – 355.2016
- Acas Certificate in Internal Workplace Mediation, to become accredited workplace mediator, 2014
- 1+3 ESRC scholarship to undertake postgraduate studies at Lancaster University, 2006
- Employee wellbeing
- Domestic abuse in the workplace
- Entrepreneurship
- Contemporary experiences of work
- Workplace inequalities
- Workplace conflict
- Gender issues in the workplace
Gemma has been involved in a wide range of research projects exploring current work and employment issues. Some of her projects include: Domestic Abuse in the workplace - This long running research project focuses on the role of trade union officers and representatives in supporting employees who are experiencing domestic violence/abuse. The project is in collaboration with Dr Tony Bennett at Sheffield Hallum University, and former colleagues Dr Carol Jones and Dr Alison Hollinrake.
The results have featured as resources for the Trades Union Congress, ACAS, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Police and Crime Commissioners and the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse.
A project report was also completed for the TUC and the research has been disseminated to key beneficiaries and audiences. Key findings from the project are - Bennett, Tony, Jones, Carol and Wibberley, Gemma (2019) "Only when it starts crumbling down, that's when you'll know": The role of trade union officers and reps in supporting employees who are experiencing domestic violence/abuse, Executive Summary Workplace conflict - Gemma was heavily involved in this team research led by Professor Richard Saundry into individual workplace conflict and dispute resolution.
The research received 4* in the 2014 REF impact case study “Working with ACAS - Informing Advice, Policy and Guidance”, and has continued engaging with Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) including undertaking a specialist case study to explore the links between conflict management and productivity with the Universities of Warwick, Plymouth and Leeds.
The research led to workshops and training to mediators, results cited widely in ACAS publications and CIPD reports on workplace conflict, and a book titled Reframing Resolution - Innovation and Change in the Management of Workplace Conflict, (eds.) Saundry, R., Latreille, P. and Ashman, I., Palgrave Macmillan Entrepreneurship/ SMEs – Gemma has been part of a wide range of collaborative projects exploring various aspects of working as a freelancer, self-employed or part of an SME.
Such as investigating worker identity in coworking space, precarious nature of freelancing, working practices of entrepreneurs, working in the creative sector, remote working during corona, and training programmes. The work has been led by iROWE Director Dr Adrian Wright, working with colleagues across the School of Business and the SME Centre, and projects have received an array of funding.
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (iROWE)
- 'Lancashire Research Institute of Citizenship, Society and Change'
- Criminal Justice Partnership
- The UCLan Centre for Business, Management & Enterprise
- 2018 : Domestic Violence project -HEIF funding, UCLan and Sheffield Hallam University – (£8,800) Gemma Wibberley (PI), Tony Bennett (Sheffield Hallam University) and Carol Jones
- 2017: Leadership Project funding - Anonymised Funder – (£25,000 approx.) Adrian Wright (PI), Dorota Marsh and Gemma Wibberley
- 2017: Co-working Project funding – UCLan – (£1,000) Adrian Wright (PI) and Gemma Wibberley
- 2015: Case Study into Workplace Effectiveness– Acas- (£1,440) Ian Ashman(PI) and Gemma Wibberley
- 2015: People, Work and Relationships research project A Regional Emergency Service (£41,873) Ian Ashman (PI),Gemma Wibberley, Mary Welch, Giles Mcclelland
- 2015: Conflict Management – Acas- (£7,760) Ian Ashman and Gemma Wibberley (PI)
- 2014 : ‘Evaluation of Union Organising Initiatives- Phase 2’ – A national trade union- (£7,390) Richard Saundry (PI), Louise McArdle and Gemma Wibberley
- 2013: The role trade union officials play in supporting victims of domestic violence in the workplace- Internally funded (£1000) Carol Jones (PI), Tony Bennett, Alison Hollinrake and Gemma Wibberley
- 2012 : ‘The mediation process and its outcomes: Perceptions and experiences from the perspective of the disputant’- Acas- (£6,664) Richard Saundry, Tony Bennett (PI), and Gemma Wibberley
- 2012 : ‘Evaluation of Union Organising Initiatives’ – A national trade union - (£7,483) Richard Saundry (PI), Tony Bennett, and Gemma Wibberley
- 2012 : 'Reframing Resolution - Managing Individual Workplace Conflict' - ESRC seminar series ES/J022276/1 -(£17,760.32) - Richard Saundry (PI); Paul Latreille, Swansea University (PI), Charlie Irvine, University of Strathclyde; Paul Teague, Queens University, Belfast; Peter Urwin, Westminster University and Gemma Wibberley
- 2011: ‘Workplace dispute resolution and the management of individual conflict – a thematic review’– Acas -(£3,350) Richard Saundry (PI) and Gemma Wibberley
- 2011 : ‘Mediation, conflict management and informal resolution – a case study’ – Acas – (£8,734) Richard Saundry (PI) and Gemma Wibberley
- TUC women’s conference,(invited speaker),2021/ TUC Yorkshire and Humber branch,(invited speaker), 2021
- Supporting Staff Experiencing Domestic Abuse, UCLan [Also co-organised event]2020
- Unison NW Women’s Seminar – ‘This is the Year, This is the Place’ at the Pankhurst Centre (Incorporating Manchester Women’s Aid)(invited speaker), 2018
- Domestic Violence and its impacts on the workplace: A conference exploring how to help, Mechanics Centre, Manchester [Also co-organised conference], 2018
- Employee Wellbeing CIPD Lancashire Branch Event, (invited speaker), 2018:
- Lancashire Law School’s 2018 International Women’s Day Conference, (invited speaker), 2018
- HR in Turbulent Times - CPP Summer Conference 2017, MMU (invited speaker), 2017/ Connect Centre, 2017
- Early Dispute Resolution for Managing Staff Conflict, CIPD Life of HR Conference, (invited speaker), 2017
- Reframing Resolution – Innovation and Change in the Management of Workplace Conflict, Sheffield University and Acas, (invited speaker), 2016
- BUIRA, 2016/Does social media cause workplace conflict?, iROWE evening seminar series,2016
- BSA Violence Against Women Study Group Event, Chester University. (invited speaker), 2016/Workplace mediation - research findings, iROWE academic seminars, 2016
- Our experience of working with union colleagues on research projects, Unionlearn Regional Conference, 2016
- Workplace mediation: learnings from research, Acas Northwest 5th Annual Mediators Network (invited speaker), 2016
- Focusing on the employees’ experiences – stories from workplace conflicts and domiciliary carers, Cycle of Conferences of the PhD in Sociology, University of Coimbra, Portugal(invited speaker), 2015
- Workplace mediation – transforming the culture of conflict management, CIPD Applied Research Conference,Warwick Business School, The Shard, 2015
- Workplace conflict: the importance of having ‘difficult conversations’ Inter-University ‘Learning from Conflict’ Conference, , 2015
- Managing workplace conflict: Approaches to dispute resolution, CIPD Lancashire Branch Event, , 2015
- Bridging the resolution gap? Dispute resolution and the management of individual conflict, Acas CIWM (Certificate in Internal Workplace Mediation) Tutors Workshop, 2014
- Introduction to mediation: Purpose and Government policy links, Mediation Workshop with MMU,(invited speaker),2014
- The management of managers dealing with conflict, International Labour Process Conference,2014
- Organising Evaluation, National union event (details withheld) (invited speaker) 2014/Evaluation of a union organising campaign, Union conference (details withheld) (invited speaker)
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 894674
Email: Email:Dr Gemma Wibberley
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