Research interests

Sally's research interests are on job quality, new forms of work, working time arrangements, the impact of technology on work, pay equity, wellbeing at work, restructuring, and work-life balance. She is an experienced mixed methods researcher. Sally completed her doctoral studies in the field of job quality.

Academic profile

Sally joined IER in February 2013. Sally came from the Workplace Research Centre (WRC) at The University of Sydney Business School where she was the project manager and lead researcher for the Award Reliance project. This was a major project commissioned by the Fair Work Commission (FWC, Australian federal government agency responsible for setting minimum wages). The project involved conducting a survey of over 11,000 Australian businesses about their wage-setting practices and reliance on minimum wages. The findings are being used by the Australian Minimum Wages Panel in the 2013-14 Minimum Wage Review.

Before joining the WRC, Sally worked for five years as a National Industrial Officer for the Finance Sector Union of Australia and in IR, employment and VET in the New South Wales public sector. She has undertaken consultancy work for a range of clients including the NSW MERSITAB, UNESCO and UNESCAP.

Current projects

• Research to inform the development of an employment relations model in Northern Ireland. With Chris Warhurst, Gaby Atfield, Beate Baldauf and Sally-Anne Barnes; Project Start Date: January 2020 - Project End Date: September 2020; Funder: Labour Relations Agency [details]
• The role of parents in providing careers guidance and how they can be better supported. With Sally-Anne Barnes, Michael Orton, Jenny Bimrose, Alan Brown, John Gough (Centre for Lifelong Learning). Funded by The Gatsby Foundation. Project Start Date 01/08/2019 - Project End Date: 31/12/2020 [details]

• Compilation of tasks data at the national level and support in the development and testing of a tasks questionnaire. With Sudipa Sarkar. Funded by the European Commission. Project Start Date: 01/12/2018 - Project End Date: 30/11/2019 [details]

• Digitisation of work processes. With Wil Hunt and Chris Warhurst. Funded by European Commission. Project Start Date 13/08/2018 - Project end Date: 12/10/2018 [details]
• BEYOND 4.0 - Inclusive Futures for Europe BEYOND the impacts of Industrie 4.0 and Digital Disruption. With Chris Warhurst, Sally-Anne Barnes, Sudipa Sarkar with Chris Mathieu (Lund University), led by Steven Dhondt (TNO).Funded by European Commission. Project Start Date: 01/01/2019 - Project End Date: 30/12/2022 [details]
• Research on job quality and the purpose of work. With Chris Warhurst (PI) and Clare Lyonette. Funded by the CIPD. Project start date: 03/2017-06/ 2017. [details]
• IAA 14-18 Leveraging Workplace Innovation. Funded by ESRC. Project Start date: 03/03/2015 - Project end date: 31/08/2018
• Provision for ERM Restructuring factsheets. Funded by European Foundation. Project Start Date: 23/04/2014 - 28/02/2018

All projects

Selected publications

• Mathieu, C., Wright, S., Boethius, S. and Green, A. (2020). 'Innovations on a shoestring: Consequences for job quality of public service innovations in health and social care', European Journal of Workplace Innovation, 5(2): 4-30.
• Barnes, S-A., Bimrose, J., Brown, A., Gough, J. & Wright, S. (2020). The role of parents and carers in providing careers guidance and how they can be better supported: International evidence report. Coventry: University of Warwick.
• Warhurst, C. and S. Wright (2020) ‘What makes a good job for low-waged workers?’ in T. Dundon and A. Wilkinson (eds) Case Studies in Work, Employment and Human Resource Management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
• Barnes, S-A. and Wright, S.A. (2019). The feasibility of developing a methodology for measuring the distance travelled and soft outcomes for long-term unemployed people participating in Active Labour Market Programmes. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
• Warhurst, C; Muñoz de Bustillo, L. R.; Antón Pérez, J-I.; Grande Martín, R.; Pinto, H. F.; Wright, S. (2019). Upward convergence in working conditions, Eurofound, ISBN: 978-92-897-1997-1.
• Wright, S., Warhurst, C., Lyonette, C. and Sarkar, S. (2018) Understanding and measuring job quality, CIPD Research Services Job Quality Study, Report 2. London: CIPD.

• Warhurst, C., Wright, S. and Lyonette, C. (2017) Understanding and measuring job quality, CIPD Research Services Job Quality Study, Report 1. London: CIPD.

• Bryan, D., Rafferty, M., Toner, P. and Wright, S. (2017). Financialisation and labour in the Australian commercial construction industry. The Economic and Labour Relations Review.Found at Online first: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1035304617739504

• Gautié, J., Ahlstrand, R., Green, A. and Wright, S. (2017). ‘Innovation, Job Quality and Employment Outcomes in the Aerospace Industry: Evidence from France, Sweden and the UK’, in K. Jaehrling (ed) Virtuous circles between innovations, job quality and employment in Europe? Case study evidence from the manufacturing sector, private and public service sector, Chapter 2, pp35-87. QuInnE Work Package 6, Deliverable D6.3. Found at: http://www.quinne.eu/

• Green, A., Illéssy, M., Koene, B., Makó, C. and Wright, S. (2017). ‘Innovation, Job Quality and Employment Outcomes in Care: Evidence from Hungary, the Netherlands and the UK’ in K. Jaehrling (ed) Virtuous circles between innovations, job quality and employment in Europe? Case study evidence from the manufacturing sector, private and public service sector, Chapter 8, pp333-386. QuInnE Work Package 6, Deliverable D6.3. Found at: http://www.quinne.eu/

• Keune, M., Payton, N., Been, W., Green, A., Mathieu, C., Postels, D., Rehnström, F., Warhurst, C. and Wright, S. (2017). ‘Innovation and Job Quality in the Games Industry in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK’ in K. Jaehrling (ed) Virtuous circles between innovations, job quality and employment in Europe? Case study evidence from the manufacturing sector, private and public service sector, Chapter 6, pp234-279. QuInnE Work Package 6, Deliverable D6.3. Found at: http://www.quinne.eu/

• Warhurst, C., Mathieu, C. and Wright, S. ((2017)) ‘Workplace Innovation and the Quality of Working Life in an Age of Uberisation’, chapter in P. Oeij, D. Rus and F. Pot (editors) Workplace Innovation: Theory, Research and Practice, Aligning Perspectives on Health, Safety and Well-Being series, Springer Publishing Company.
• Stuart, F., Pautz, H., Crimin, S. and Wright, S. (2016). What makes for decent work? A Study with low paid workers in Scotland (Initial Findings). A UWS-Oxfam Partnership report with the support of Warwick Institute for Employment Research. Glasgow: Oxfam Scotland.
• Stuart, F., Pautz, H., and Wright, S. (2016). Decent Work for Scotland's Low-Paid Workers: A Job to be done. A UWS-Oxfam Partnership report with the support of Warwick Institute for Employment Research. Glasgow: Oxfam Scotland.
• Mathieu, C., Warhurst, C. and Wright, S. (2016) ‘Jakość pracy jako dźwignia innowacji organizacyjnych oraz rola zarządzania zasobami ludzkimi’ (‘Job Quality as a Lever for Organizational Innovation’ and the Role of Human Resource Management’) in Strumińska-Kutra, M.; Rok, B. (eds) Innowacje w miejscu pracy. Pomiędzy efektywnością a jakością życia społecznego (Workplace innovations: Between efficiency and quality of work life), pp 51-74, Warszawa: Poltext Publishing House
• Barnes, S-A., Wright, S., Irving, P. and Deganis, I. (2015). Identification of latest trends and current developments in methods to profile jobseekers in European public employment services: final report. Brussels: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
• Eurofound (2015). Upgrading or polarisation? Long-term and global shifts in the employment structure: European Jobs Monitor 2015. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. (Contributors: Hurley, J., Fernández-Macías, E., Antón, J.I., Muñoz de Bustillo Llorente, R., Anxo, D., Franz, C., Kümmerling, A., Oesch, D., Murphy, E., Grimshaw, D., Rafferty, A., Gimpelson, V., Kapeliushnikov, R., Hwang, D.S., Warhurst, C., Wright, S., Whelan, S., Yang, D., Jie, C., Xiaobo, Q., Teicher, J., Dwyer, R., Wright, E.O. and Kambayashi, R.)

• Warhurst, C. and Wright, S. (2014). If it's innovation you want, think about job quality. In: BBVA (eds) Reinventing the Company in the Digital Age, Madrid: BBVA, pp. 157-174.

All publications

All conference presentations