PhD
Institute for Work & Employment Research
The Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) is dedicated to advancing research that enhances the well-being of workers and their loved ones while guiding managers towards creating an inclusive and successful future of work. Comprising sociologists, labor economists, and employment scholars, this multidisciplinary group offers a collaborative environment where PhD students work closely with core faculty. IWER provides an interdisciplinary environment deeply rooted in sociology, labor relations, and labor economics, preparing students for innovative empirical research and impactful contributions to policy and practice. Notable faculty members include Erin Kelly, Thomas Kochan, Susan Silbey, and Emilio J. Castilla.
Research from IWER Faculty
The Rise of the “Disposable” American Worker
The transformation of employment has left roughly one-third of the U.S. workforce without job security, according to a new book by MIT Sloan School of Management professor Paul Osterman.
‘Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment’
MIT Sloan’s Paul Osterman argues that the rise in gig workers, freelancers, contractors, adjuncts, and other contingent workers carries long-term implications for the future of work.
Who benefits from negotiating? Social class makes a difference
New research from MIT Sloan School of Management finds that individuals from lower social class backgrounds are less likely to negotiate and face greater backlash when they do.
Remembering Robert McKersie, who reshaped how we understand negotiation
McKersie’s 1965 framework for labor bargaining became one of negotiation theory’s most enduring ideas — and helped guide a life of activism, mentorship, and academic leadership.
MIT Sloan reflects: 250 years of American business and management
MIT Sloan School of Management faculty members reflect on how innovations and ideas over the past 250 years influence business today.
Faculty Share Latest Insights at MIT Sloan Reunion 2026
MIT Sloan’s leading thinkers in economics, sustainability, and organizational studies agree: Embracing the human elements of our work is more critical than ever.
Companies’ use of ‘disposable workers’ is transforming employment
Freelancers, contractors, part-timers, gig workers, adjuncts, and other contingent workers deserve more respect, MIT Sloan professor emeritus Paul Osterman writes in his book “Disposable Workers.”
The surprising power of warmth in AI negotiations
In MIT’s international AI Negotiation Competition, “warmer” agents achieved better outcomes in negotiations with other AI agents.
Even AI won’t tolerate a ruthless negotiator
MIT Sloan researchers find that warm, empathetic AI agents consistently outperform cold, ruthless ones in a large-scale international AI negotiation competition
Heeding the pope’s call to ensure AI protects human dignity
Following Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI, MIT Sloan professor emeritus Thomas A. Kochan argues that firms should partner with workers to ensure AI augments human skills and knowledge.
Select IWER Faculty
IWER Co-Directors
Erin Kelly
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies
Erin L. Kelly is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Co-Director of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. Kelly’s research has been published in many top…
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IWER Faculty
Clem Aeppli
Assistant Professor, Work and Organization Studies
Clem Aeppli is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Work and Organization Studies group at MIT Sloan. In his research, he aims to understand how broad transformations in the organization of work shape inequality and instability. His projects have…
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Zana Bucinca
Assistant Professor, Work and Organization Studies
Zana Buçinca is an Assistant Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management (in the Work and Organizations Studies Group) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Before joining MIT, she was a postdoctoral scholar with…
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Thomas Kochan
George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management, Emeritus
Thomas A. Kochan is the Post-Tenure George Maverick Bunker Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a faculty member in the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. Kochan focuses on the need to update America's work and…
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Paul Osterman
Nanyang Technological University Professor Emeritus
Paul Osterman is a Professor Emeritus of Human Resources and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management as well as a member of the Department of Urban Planning at MIT. From July 2003 to June 2007 he also served as Deputy Dean at the MIT Sloan…
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Mary Rowe
Adjunct Professor, Work and Organization Studies
Mary P. Rowe is an Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and taught these topics for twenty years. She served for almost 42 years as an organizational ombuds reporting directly to five…
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Susan Silbey
Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities
Professor Susan S. Silbey is Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, and Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences, Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Silbey is…
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Anna Stansbury
W. Maurice Young (1961) Career Development Assistant Professor of Management
Anna Stansbury is an Assistant Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and is in the core faculty of the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research. She is also a nonresident senior fellow at the…
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Nathan Wilmers
Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management
Nathan Wilmers is the Erwin H. Schell Professor of Management and a Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is in the core faculty of the Institute for Work and Employment Research and affiliated with the…
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Example PhD Thesis Topics
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K. MacKenzie Scott (2025)
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Claire McKenna (2024)
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Arrow Minster (2024)
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Alexander Kowalski (2022)
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George Ward (2022)