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Staff Profile

Professor Abigail Marks

Associate Dean Research and Professor of the Future of Work

Background

Abigail is currently the Director of Research for Newcastle University Business School. Prior to her appointment at Newcastle University, Abigail was Associate Dean Business Engagement and Director of the DBA/DMan Programme at Stirling Management School. Abigail has also been the Director of Research at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and Director of Doctoral Programmes. Abigail's first academic roles were at the University of Edinburgh (1995-1999), followed by the University of Strathclyde (1999-2002).

Abigail is currently the Consulting Editor for Work in the Global Economy and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Management Studies, Work, Employment and Society and the International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management. She currently sits on the editorial boards of New Technology, Work and Employment; Team Performance Management and Leadership, Education and Personality.

AAbigail is regularly interviewed by the media as an expert on  issues relating to work and employment. She has chaired expert panels  on Working Life Challenges for the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE)  and NordFisk. Abigail has also served as an external advisor for research projects based in Norway and Denmark. 

Abigail has served on the Expert Advisory Group to the Scottish Government on New Social Security Powers and was an advisor on the 2012 Scottish Government's Mental Health Strategy, she is currently a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Work. Over the past year Abigail has provided evidence to the House of Lords and Senedd Cymru on Homeworking and the Four Day Week and has been involved in the Scottish Government's Digital Ethics Expert Group. Abigail has held several externally funded research grants including a recent UKRI/ESRC funded project looking at homeworking under COVID-19 measures (www.workingathome.org.uk). Abigail is a Research Fellow with the Institute of the Future of Work. 

Research

I have successfully attracted research income from both government and industry as well as frequently invitations to provide policy advice and evidence to both the UK, Welsh and Scottish Governments. I am currently the PI on a large ESRC funded project looking at homeworking responses to COVID-19.  Has chaired research panels in the UK and overseas. Appears regularly on Scottish and English television and radio to comment on work issues. Research interests are concerned with the location of work, the construction of organisational, occupational, and class identity. Teamwork, skills development, work-life balance and the ICT sector have also been key themes. Recent research has evolved to develop a focus on data science, wellbeing at work (and in unemployment) and particularly the experience of work and benefits assessment for people with mental health conditions as well as a developing interest in financial exclusion. My research has been published in internationally recognised (mainly ABS 3 and 4 rated) journals, edited collections, monographs, and book chapters. 

I have supervised eleven PhD students to completion including topics such as social class and the legal profession, the labour process of the music industry, distributed teams and the meaning of work in Post-Colonial Sri Lanka.

Research Activities from 2015

Recent Refereed Journal Articles

Terry, E., Marks, A., Dakessian, A., and Christopolous, D. ‘Digitalisation, dependent self-employment and emotional labour in the home-collected credit industry: The endurance of the (human) collection agent.’ Work, Employment and Society (Forthcoming ABS 4)

Skountridaki, L., Zschlomer, D., Marks, A., and Mallett, O. (2020) Organisational support for the work-life balance of home-based workers. Work-Life Balance Bulletin: A DOP Publication Volumne 4, No. 2. Winter 2020.

Mallett, O., Marks, A., and Skountriaki, L. (2020)  ‘Where does work belong anymore? The implications of intensive homebased working’. Gender in Management. Accepted 21st July, 2020

Richards, J., Sang, K., Marks, A. and Gill, S. (2019). ’I’ve found it extremely draining: emotional labour and the lived experience of line managing neurodiversity.’ Personnel Review 48 (7), pp. 1903-1923

Wimalasema, L., and Marks, A. (2019) ‘Habitus and reflexivity in tandem? Insights from postcolonial Sri Lanka.’ Sociological Review, 64, 148-165. (ABS 3)

MacKenzie, R., and Marks, A. (2019). ‘Older workers and occupational identity in the telecommunications industry: Navigating employment transitions through the life course.’ Work, Employment and Society, 33(1), 39-55.  (ABS 4)

MacKenzie, R., Marks, A., and Morgan, K. (2017). ‘Occupational identity, technology and restructuring in the telecommunications sector: From ‘machines that sang’ to ‘plug and play’.’ Sociology, 51(4) (ABS 4)

 Marks, A., Chillas, S., Galloway, L., and Maclean, G. (2017). ‘Confusion and collectivism in the ICT sector: Is FLOSS the answer?’ Economic and Industrial Democracy, 1-22 (ABS

Sang, K., Richards, J., and Marks, A. (2016) ‘Gender and disability in male dominated occupations: a social relational mode’. Gender, Work and Organisation, 23(6), 567-581. (ABS 3)

Roslender, R., Marks, A., and Stevenson, J. (2015) ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t: Conflicting perspectives on the virtues of accounting for people.’ Critical Perspectives on Accounting. 27, 43-55. (ABS 3)

Chillas, S., Marks, A., and Galloway, L. (2015) ‘Learning to Labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in the ICT sector.’ New Technology, Work and Employment, 30, 1, 1-15. (ABS 3)

Recent Edited Collections

Briken, K., Chillas, S., Krzywdzinski, M., and Marks, A. (2017). The Digital Workplace. How new technologies revolutionise work. London: Palgrave.

 

Recent Book Chapters

Marks, A. and Chillas, S. (2020). 'Labour process theory and Voice,' in A. Wilkinson, J. Donaghey , T. Dundon and R. Freeman (eds.). Handbook of research on Employee voice. (2nd Edition) Edward Elgar.

 

Briken, K., Chillas, S., Krzywdzinski, M., and Marks, A. (2017). Introduction - The digital workplace. How new technologies revolutionise work.’ Palgrave.

 

Marks, A., Chillas, S., and Maclean, G. (2017). ‘Gender and the new digital workplace’ in Briken, K., Chillas, S., Krzywdzinski, M., and Marks, A. (eds.). The digital workplace. How new technologies revolutionise work. Palgrave.

 

Marks, A., and Maclean, G. (2015). ‘Managing people at work,’ in R. MacIntosh and K. O’Gorman (eds.). Introducing management in a global context, Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

 

Recent Non-Academic Publications

Abigail Marks, Lila Skountridaki, Oliver Mallett and Danny Zchomler, Are we Zooming towards the future of work? The Conversation (2020)

Abigail Marks, Oliver Mallett and Lila Skountridaki, People are missing their daily commute in lockdown and here’s why. The Conversation (2020)

Abigail Marks & Mike Danson, Would Remaining in the EU Create 790,000 New UK Jobs? NEWSWEEK. (2016)

Abigail Marks, Sue Cowan, & Gavin Maclean. The stories that show how fit-for-work assessments are destroying lives. The Conversation. (2015)

Selected Recent Research Income

2020-2021

Where does work belong anymore? The impact of the COVID19 pandemic on working in the UK

275,734

UKRI -ESRC

Lila Skountridaki, Oliver Mallett

2020

PhD Studentship -Creating sustainable communities through the development of skills

Approx. 90, 000

Skills Development Scotland & ESRC

Darren McGuire

2018-2019

Understanding networks of female agents

80,000

Industry Funding

Dimitris Christopulous

2016

PhD Studentship Graduate Apprenticeships in the ICT Sector

74,250

Skills Development Scotland & ESRC

Mike Danson

2016

Scotland and Welfare Reforms

7, 497

Carnegie Trust

Sue Cowan

2015

Unemployment and Mental Health

9,872

Internal Funding

Sue Cowan

 

Teaching

I am an innovative teacher who introduces contemporary debates and research as part of the learning process for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. I adopt a multi-disciplinary perspective to teaching, incorporating insights from business, sociology and critical theory. These techniques encourage students to engage with the research process throughout their degree and helps them develop analytical tools in advance of students undertaking research projects.

Over the past few years my teaching has focused on delivery of postgraduate research methods at MRes and doctoral level, both PhD and DBA. I have extensive experience teaching taught postgraduate degrees, MBAs and all level of undergraduates. Courses taught include Organisational Behaviour, Managing Diversity, Strategic Human Resource Management, and the Sociology of Work.

I have accumulated considerable international experience, not only in terms of teaching overseas, several visiting professorships and numerous research partnerships with peers, but also at the organisational level, developing prestigious partnerships with overseas institutions at doctoral level. Specifically, for previous employers I have created successful and profitable partnerships with  German universities at DBA level and developed a partnership for a new Doctor of Management Degree (DMan) with a premier university in China. I have a strong track record in developing and creating financially and academically successful taught doctoral programmes.

Publications