


PhD Projects

Noémie Brison
Supervisor : Gaetane Caesens
The PhD project aims at examining the relationship between workplace ostracism and organizational dehumanization. It further seeks to identify the explaining mechanisms and the deleterious consequences of this relationship for employees as well as for organizations. It also aims at studying how employees belonging to minorities experience ostracism in organizational settings.

Constantin Lagios
Supervisor : Gaëtane Caesens
The PhD project focuses on the emloyee-employer relationship and, more precisely, on the deshumanization construct. It examines the organizational and work-related factors that may lead to organizational dehumanization, as well as the harmful consequences it has for both employees and organizations. It also aims at identifying the mechanisms that may explain these deleterious consequences.

Sarah Dekeyser
Supervisor : Vanessa Hanin and Gaëtane Caesens
In Europe and worlwide, the attrition rate among teachers is rising. One of the key determinants underlined is level of burnout. On this basis, the PhD focuses on the facotr of teachers' occupational stress and burnout. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the project aims to shed lights on the emotional competencies that influence level of stress, anxiety, and burnout among prospective teachers.

Emma Sarter
Supervisor : Annalisa Casini
Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the PhD project is centered on the study of transphobia, that is to say the “stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination directed toward individuals that are or are perceived to be transgender” (Morrison et al., 2017, p. 1). Emma is also interested in both the causes of this phenomenon and its consequences on trans* people’s well-being and self-perception.
Aside from the main project, Emma work on the construction of a scale measuring emotions and behaviours that cisgender people are likely to adopt when interacting with trans* individuals in daily life situations.
Finally, a smaller part of my work consists in giving trainings to professionals who regularly interact with trans* clients or patients and aim to develop a more inclusive practice.

Charlotte Rodriguez Conde
Supervisor : Florence Stinglhamber, Nele De Cuyper, Hans de Witte
During the Covid-19 pandemic, employers made extensive use of short-time work (STW) compensation schemes (sometimes called “temporary unemployment”). In Belgium alone, more than one million workers were affected by STW at the peak of the crisis. Because such a measure saves jobs and alleviates deprivation of financial resources in the short term, it is usually considered beneficial for employees with overall positive outcomes on job attitudes and well-being. Yet, STW may have a dark side. First, it may be a disruptive event that indicates a threat to employment and employability. Second, it may trigger feelings of being instrumentalized by the organization and undermine the relationship between the organization and employees on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, the PhD project aims to investigate the bright and dark sides of STW and the impact of this policy instrument on job attitudes, well-being, and career-related outcomes in the long term.
Post-doc Projects

Michaël Parmentier
Michaël is a postdoctoral researcher in Organizational and Vocational Psychology. The aim of his PhD was to investigate how individuals emotionally anticipate several major educational and career transitions: the transition from high school to higher education, the transition from higher education to the job market, and the transition from unemployment to employment. More specifically, he is interested in investigating the specific combinations of emotional anticipation as well as several antecedents (e.g., career adaptability, emotion regulation) and outcomes (e.g., vocational behaviors) of individuals' emotional anticipation at the prospect of these transitions. In parallel, he also began a post-project at the Université of Lausanne under the supervision of Jonas Masdonati on a qualitative project related to unvoluntary job transition

Thomas Pirsoul
Thomas is a postdoctoral researcher and teaching assistant. The PhD project that Thomas realized aimed to investigate the role of emotional intelligence in career development. As the majority of studies were cross-sectional and focused on variable-centered approches, the aims of this project was to extend the investigation of emotional intelligence with longitudinal and person-centered approaches in career development.