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Maura Mills

Professor of Management, The University of Alabama
Chapter Leader: Alabama SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Maura

Mills' research focuses on issues related to human resources and organizational behavior, including how organizations can best structure work to facilitate improved employee experiences as well as optimal organizational outcomes. Overarching themes in Mills' writings include considerations of employee attitudes, engagement, well-being, and the work-family interface (balance, conflict, enrichment), particularly insofar as how they relate to employee gender. Mills is an active member of various professional organizations, including the Academy of Management, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

In the News

Maura Mills quoted by Bethany McCamish, "Financial Experts: Do These Things To Weather The Coronavirus Crisis If You Don’t Have Paid Sick Leave" The Money Manual, October 29, 2020.
Maura Mills quoted by Anna Claire Vollers, "“Wading Into the Unknown’: Alabama’s Working Parents Find Few Solutions As School Loom" AL.com, July 23, 2020.
Maura Mills quoted by Katie Willem, "Online Aesthetics" Platform Magazine, August 7, 2017.

Publications

"The Influence of Job Candidates’ Physical Appearance on Interview Evaluations" (with Graham H. Lowman and Peter D. Harms). Personal Psychology 18, no. 2 (2019): 55-70.

Draws on theory to propose an explanation regarding how and why specific components of physical appearance (e.g., hair, height, clothing, body type, attractiveness, etc.) influence interviewer perceptions of job applicants (e.g., through trait inference, perception of person-job fit, etc.), and how those characteristics ultimately inform the (in)accuracy of a hiring decision recommendation.

"Employee Lactation: A Review and Recommendations for Research, Practice, and Policy" (with Candice L.Thomas, Lauren D. Murphy, Jing Zhang, Gwenith G.Fisher, and Rebecca L. Clancy). Human Resource Management Review (2021).

Identifies and unpacks specific workplace resources (e.g., time, facilities, tools, access, support) that facilitate employee lactation ability & duration. Specifies the work-related challenges (occupational, organizational, leadership, employee) that hamper employee lactation, recommendations for leaders, organizations, & employees alike in improving practice.

"Switching Gears: A Self-Regulatory Approach and Measure of Nonwork Role Re-Engagement Following After-Hours Work Intrusions" (with Angela R. Grotto and Erin M. Eatough ). Journal of Business and Psychology (2021).

Unpacks employees' (in)ability to return to nonwork tasks after after-hours interruption from work, and the various negative consequences that such interruptions can have for employees.

Gender and the Work-Family Experience.

Puts multiple faces – male as well as female – on complex realities with interdisciplinary & cross-cultural awareness and research-based insight.  Examines & compares how women & men experience work-family conflict & its consequences for relationships at home as well as outcomes on the job.

"Who Can Have It All and How? An Empirical Examination of Gender and Work–Life Considerations Among Senior Executives" (with Angela R. Grotto). Emerald Insight 32, no. 2 (2017).

Yields important implications, including empirical justification for work-life (work-family) management initiatives being extended to include men as well as women, and expanded for both genders. Mentions how this is particularly true for leaders, as high-level employees report especially intense workloads and unclear boundaries between domains.

"Workplace Support and Affirming Behaviors: Moving Toward a Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Non-Binary Friendly Workplace" (with Ann Hergatt Huffman, Satoris S. Howes, and M. David Albritton). International Journal of Transgender Health 22, no. 3 (2020): 225-242 .

Provides empirically-supported guidelines for organizations, leaders, and employees in supporting their transgender and gender-diverse coworkers and subordinates. Includes using gender-affirming pronouns/titles, discouraging derogatory comments, bathroom availability, and how each differentially predicts various outcomes such as job and life satisfaction.