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Emily Heaphy

Professor | John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellow

Management
Emily D. Heaphy is a professor of Management and John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In September 2026, she will begin a three-year term as Chair of the Managem

Emily D. Heaphy is a professor of Management and John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In September 2026, she will begin a three-year term as Chair of the Management Department. Her research focuses how individuals draw on interpersonal relationships, emotions and the human body are used to manage tensions between personal needs and organizational demands. Recent examples of studies include accessing healthcare, work-life balance, disability access, and workplace romances. She is a co-founder of the Positive Relationships at Work research micro-community. Heaphy has won numerous teaching awards at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. As a Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow (2023-2024), in the Office of Faculty Development she developed a research-based workshop series for department heads and chairs aimed at equipping chairs to make positive change through improving work relationships. She is an Associate Editor at Academy of Management Journal.

Education

PhD in Management and Organizations, University of Michigan, 2008
BA in Women’s Studies, minor in Economics, Magna cum laude, Wellesley College, 1997

Academic Appointments

Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2024-present
Associate Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2021-2024
Assistant Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2018-2021
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, University of Rhode Island, 2016-2018
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior, Boston University, 2008-2016
Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour, McGill University, 2007-2008
Instructor, Management and Organizations, University of Michigan, 2007

Recent Honors / Awards

Associate Editor, Academy of Management Journal, 2025-2028
Professor of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2024-present
Office of Faculty Development Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2024-2025
Research Excellence Award, Isenberg School of Management, 2024
Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2023-2024
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Academy of Management Discoveries, 2022
John F. Kennedy Faculty Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2021-2026
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Positive Organizations, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, 2021-present
Isenberg College Outstanding Teacher Award, 2021
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Organization Science, 2019

Research Interests

High quality connections
Positive relationships at work
Human body at work

Teaching Interests

General
  • Negotiations
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Human Resource Management
  • Qualitative Research
Media, Industry, and Public ImpactHeaphy, E. (2025) Four Ways Chairs Can Develop Relational Attention. Inside Higher Education (online), published October 21. 

Media, Industry, and Public Impact

Heaphy, E. (2025) Four Ways Chairs Can Develop Relational Attention. Inside Higher Education (online), published October 21. 

Professional LinksGoogle Scholar

Professional Links

Selected Publications

Heaphy, E.D. and Trefalt, Š. (2024) Hiding in plain sight: Co-enacting the sustainable worker schema in a professional service firm. Organization Science, 35(4): 1203-1570, C2-C3.  https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2020.14201

*Caza, B., *Heaphy, E.D., Roberts, L.M., Spreitzer, G.S. (2024) Revaluing ordinary moments: Disrupting gendered positive self-concepts through a narrative feedback intervention. Academy of Management Discoveries10(1): 34-58. https://doi.org/10.5465/amd.2021.0021

  • *Indicates equal authorship.

Lawrence, T.B., *Schlindwein, E., *Jalan, R., *Heaphy, E.D. (2023) Organizational body work: Efforts to shape human bodies in organizations. Academy of Management Annals, 17(1): 37-73. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2021.0047

  • *Indicates equal authorship, names listed in reverse alphabetical order.