Emily Hunter, Ph.D.
Professor; Department Chair of Management, Hankamer School of Business | Baylor University
Waco, TX, UNITED STATES
Negotiation and conflict management expert, revolutionizing the fundamentals of workplace psychology
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Biography
Dr. Emily M. Hunter, associate professor of management at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business, teaches negotiation and conflict management. Her research on employee work-family issues, stress, and deviant behavior has appeared in academic journals such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management and Journal of Organizational Behavior. She is also the co-author of "Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America's Prosperity."
She also has received awards for her papers and presentations including "Most Innovative Session Award" from the Southern Management Association in 2010, and is a member of the Academy of Management, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Southern Management Association.
Hunter received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Loyola University New Orleans in 2003, and her master's degree in 2006 and doctoral degree in 2009 in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Houston. Before joining the Baylor faculty, she worked as a senior consultant at Assessment and Development, Inc.
Hunter's research interests include negotiation, conflict management, work-family conflict and balance, workplace deviance, servant leadership and workday breaks.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Negotiation and conflict management
Work-Family Issues
Stress
Work-family conflict and balance
Workplace Deviance
Work-Life Balance
Management
Work-Family Boundaries
Servant Leadership
Workday Breaks
Accomplishments (3)
Baylor Fellow (professional)
Awarded by Baylor University, 2016
Robert & Robin Nitsche Outstanding Research Award (professional)
2016-04-01
Awarded by the Hankamer School of Business
Engineering Management Division Best Presentation (professional)
2015-01-01
Awarded by the ASEE Annual Conference
Education (3)
University of Houston Main Campus: Ph.D., Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2009
University of Houston: M.A., Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2006
Loyola University New Orleans: B.A., Psychology 2003
Affiliations (5)
- Academy of Management
- American Psychological Association
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Southern Management Association
Links (1)
Media Appearances (10)
The 6-Day Energy Challenge
The New York Times online
2024-01-01
Cindy Wu, Ph.D., professor of human resource management at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business who studies workplace breaks, is quoted in this article about an energy challenge focusing on five science-backed ingredients for energy: rest, exercise, socializing, eating and finding enjoyment in your daily tasks. Wu talks about her research with Emily Hunter, Ph.D., on how to feel more refreshed by taking better workday breaks.
Microbreaks can increase your well-being, but only if you do these types of activities, experts say
CNN online
2022-08-31
Emily Hunter, Ph.D., chair and professor of management at Baylor, is quoted in this article about beneficial microbreaks at work. Hunter, who researches workday breaks, says whatever workers decide to do on their break, it should be something they enjoy, which is associated with a high recovery level after the break.
9 Things You Can Do During Your Lunch Break to Guarantee a Great Afternoon
Prevention online
2022-03-09
Emily M. Hunter, Ph.D., professor and chair of management, is quoted in this article about the importance of taking a break during the workday, which can increase productivity and lower burnout rates.
Not a workaholic? You might have some of the same traits
The Financial online
2021-09-29
A study by Baylor management faculty Emily M. Hunter, Ph.D., and Dawn S. Carlson, Ph.D., is featured in this article on workaholics and what being a workaholic can mean for the future.
The Perfect Workday Hours to Maximize Motivation
Thrive Global online
2021-09-17
Research from Emily Hunter, Ph.D. and Cindy Wu, Ph.D., associate professors of management, is used in this article in support of taking a coffee break in the mid-morning.
Why Control Over Boundaries Is Key To Successful Work-Life Balance
Forbes online
2020-08-14
This article references a study conducted by Baylor researchers Sara Perry, Ph.D., associate professor of management and Emily Hunter, Ph.D., associate professor of management, Hankamer School of Business, on “Stress in remote work: two studies testing the Demand-Control-Person model,” which analyzed the autonomy of remote workers in relation to their stress levels and emotional stability.
As Millions Set Up Work-from-Home Offices for the First Time, Baylor Expert Tells How to Make a Smooth Transition
Baylor Media and Public Relations online
2020-03-26
The spread of coronavirus has interrupted many traditional institutions of working life, with perhaps the most drastic change to the professional environment coming from the rapid transition to work-from-home offices. Baylor University’s Emily Hunter, Ph.D., associate professor of management in the Hankamer School of Business, is an expert on work/life balance, work/family boundaries and workday breaks.
Success 101 Files – Intelligence for Your Life: Baylor Workday Break Research
WRJN-AM (Milwaukee, WI) radio
2020-02-24
AUDIO: As part of his Success 101 segment, John Tesh, host of the daily show Intelligence For Your Life, spotlights research by Baylor management professors Emily Hunter, Ph.D., and Cindy Wu, Ph.D., about the best time to take short workday breaks, which can increase productivity and lower burnout rates.
A new psychological study revealed the best time to take a break at work
CKHY-FM (Halifax, NS, Canada) radio
2020-01-13
This article focuses on recent workday break research by Baylor management professors Emily Hunter, Ph.D., and Cindy Wu, Ph.D., whose study showed how workday breaks can lead to more job satisfaction, as well as improvements in energy, concentration and task motivation.
The best time of day to take a break
The Washington Post print
2015-09-14
Jena McGregor, daily columnist for the On Leadership section of The Washington Post, penned this article about new Baylor research that identifies key characteristics of a “better” workday break. Emily Hunter, Ph.D., and Cindy Wu, Ph.D., associate professors of management in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, published their study in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Hunter was interviewed for the story. “We tested many assumptions that people commonly hold about breaks, like going outside or doing something that’s low effort or something that's not work-related. All these things did not matter as much as two things, really: doing something you prefer and taking breaks earlier in the day," she said.
Answers (1)
Articles (5)
Violating Work-Family Boundaries: Reactions to Interruptions at Work and Home
Journal of Management2017 Our study builds on recent trends to understand the work-family interface through daily experiences of boundary management. In particular, we investigated boundary violations, or events in which family life breaches the boundary of work and vice versa. Our purpose was to enlighten the process between violations and relevant outcomes, building on the foundations of affective events theory and boundary theory. Specifically, we aim to (1) tease apart boundary violations at work and at home from the established construct of work-family conflict, (2) explore the affective events theory process through which cognitive and affective reactions to boundary violation events contribute to work-family conflict and satisfaction, and (3) examine positive and negative reactions to boundary violations. Findings from a 2-week daily diary study of 121 employed participants partially supported our predictions. Boundary violations contributed to general perceptions of work-family conflict both directly and indirectly through cognitive appraisals of thwarted goals and, in the work domain, negative affective reactions. Violations were also related to satisfaction through goal appraisal. Finally, benefits in the form of positive affect were found from boundary violations due to facilitated goals in the interrupting domain.
A servant leader and their stakeholders: When does organizational structure enhance a leader's influence?
The Leadership Quarterly2016 Accumulating evidence finds servant leadership is related to critical employee and organizational criteria, but only a limited amount of studies link servant leaders to both internal and external stakeholder outcomes. Moreover, there remains a great deal to learn regarding the conditions under which this influence is enhanced or diminished. We address these limitations in the literature by testing a multilevel model that hypothesizes servant leadership is related to nurse behavior and satisfaction as well as patient satisfaction. Further, drawing upon contingency theory, we test a contextual moderator, organizational structure, as a potential enhancer of the relationships between servant leadership and these outcomes. Using a sample of 1485 staff nurses and 105 nurse managers at nine hospitals, we demonstrated that servant leadership is directly related to more nurse helping and creative behavior, and it is related to patient satisfaction through nurse job satisfaction. Also, organizational structure acted as a moderator to enhance the influence of servant leadership on creative behavior as well as patient satisfaction through nurse job satisfaction. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
We all seek revenge: The role of honesty-humility in reactions to incivility
Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management2016 Based on the theoretical foundations of equity theory, we assess two potential responses to coworker incivility – an overt means of revenge (i.e., increase in interpersonal deviance) and a covert means of revenge (i.e., reduction of organizational citizenship behaviors). We examined the moderating role of the personality trait Honesty-Humility on these relationships in 322 full time employees. Using data from two points in time, we found that Honesty-Humility moderated the relationships such that respondents who were lower in Honesty-Humility were more likely to engage in overt revenge due to coworker incivility, whereas those who were higher in Honest-Humility took a different path and demonstrated the propensity to engage in covert revenge by reducing their engagement in organizational citizenship behaviors. Future research and practical implications are discussed.
Managing the innovators: Organizational and professional commitment among scientists and engineers
Research Policy2016 How can leaders best manage commitment among innovators? We applied theory on dual allegiance to multiple targets of commitment, in conjunction with person-organization fit theory, to explore the dynamics of organizational and professional commitment among scientists and engineers working in hybrid, research-focused organizations. These types of organizations are founded on large-scale multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaboration between academe and industry. Using both individual- and organizational-level variables collected from 255 academic science and engineering researchers working in 22 National Science Foundation-funded Engineering Research Centers, our analyses revealed that researcher innovation orientation (i.e., the predisposition to approach work in novel ways) was positively associated with organizational and professional commitment. Those relationships were moderated by two factors: organizational productivity in late-stage technology transfer and the researcher‘s perceived role significance (i.e., in fulfilling the strategic mission of the organization). The strongest positive relationship between innovation orientation and organizational commitment emerged among researchers who perceived high role significance and worked in highly productive organizations. A negative relationship between innovation orientation and professional commitment also emerged among those individuals. Post-hoc analyses revealed that highly innovative, senior researchers who perceived high role significance were the most likely to report higher levels of both organizational and professional commitment. Leaders of multi-disciplinary research centers who are aware of the complexity of dynamics among organizational commitment, professional commitment, and role significance may be better equipped to effectively manage science and engineering researchers.
Give me a better break: Choosing workday break activities to maximize resource recovery
Journal of Applied Psychology2015 Surprisingly little research investigates employee breaks at work, and even less research provides prescriptive suggestions for better workday breaks in terms of when, where, and how break activities are most beneficial. Based on the effort-recovery model and using experience sampling methodology, we examined the characteristics of employee workday breaks with 95 employees across 5 workdays. In addition, we examined resources as a mediator between break characteristics and well-being. Multilevel analysis results indicated that activities that were preferred and earlier in the work shift related to more resource recovery following the break. We also found that resources mediated the influence of preferred break activities and time of break on health symptoms and that resource recovery benefited person-level outcomes of emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behavior. Finally, break length interacted with the number of breaks per day such that longer breaks and frequent short breaks were associated with more resources than infrequent short breaks.
