Claudia Bernhard-Oettel Professor, Deputy Head of Department
Contact
Name and title: Claudia Bernhard-OettelProfessor, Deputy Head of Department
Phone: +468163886
Workplace: Department of Psychology Länk till annan webbplats.
Visiting address Albanovägen 12
Postal address Psykologiska institutionen106 91 Stockholm
About me
Research Profile and Academic Background
My overarching research interest revolves around individuals’ opportunities to gain, maintain, change, and develop their employment and working conditions in a labor market increasingly characterized by volatility and unpredictability. This includes research on temporary and part-time employment, unemployment, competence transfer, workplace transitions, employability, entry and exit pathways in working life, and job lock. I also study the working conditions of self-employed individuals, freelancers, and gig workers.
Since 2020, I have held the position of Professor of Psychology, with a specialization in Work and Organizational Psychology, at the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University.
After five years of psychology studies, I obtained my diploma (equivalent to a Master's degree) in Psychology from TU Dresden, Germany, in 2001, and began my doctoral studies in 2003 at the Swedish National Institute for Working Life as part of the EU-funded project PSYCONES (Psychological Contracts Across Employment Situations). I earned my PhD in Psychology in 2008, with a dissertation focusing on alternative employment arrangements—such as part-time and temporary work—in relation to individual factors, health, and work-related attitudes.
Following my PhD, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher (2 years) and was appointed Associate Professor (docent) in Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University in May 2011. I participated in several research projects and worked as a substitute lecturer at Södertörn University before being appointed as a lecturer in Psychology with a focus on research methodology at the Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, in 2012. In 2018, I was appointed to a lectureship in Work and Organizational Psychology at the same department.
Over the years, I have supervised several doctoral students and been involved in various dissertation projects. I have served as the principal supervisor for Constanze Eib (PhD, 2015) and Johanna Stengård (PhD, 2018), and as assistant supervisor for Anne Richter (PhD, 2011), Kristina Langhammer (PhD, 2013), and Aleksandra Bujacz (PhD, 2017). Currently, I supervise doctoral candidates Louise Bergman (expected to defend in 2025), Rebecca Fältén, Clara Plückelmann, and Franziska Müller. Several of my former PhD students—such as Stengård, Eib, and Richter—have been promoted to associate professors and now work at other Swedish universities and higher education institutions.
Academic Service and Leadership
I have served as an expert reviewer in recruitment processes for academic positions in Psychology at several universities and colleges. I was a member of the evaluation panel for research funding at the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE) from 2021 to 2024, and will serve on the evaluation panel of the Academy of Finland in 2025.
I regularly act as a reviewer for various scientific journals and have been on the editorial board of the Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology since 2015, serving as Editor-in-Chief from 2019 to 2024.
In addition, I was the coordinator of the graduate school focused on work, health, stress, and performance in 2017 and 2018. This interdisciplinary initiative was part of the Stockholm Stress Center and funded by FORTE.
Since autumn 2018, I have served as Deputy Director of Studies for undergraduate education, with special responsibility for courses delivered within the Speech Therapy program at Karolinska Institutet. Since 2020, I have also been the academic coordinator of the Personnel, Work and Organization (PAO) program at the Department of Psychology. I am currently a member of the department's board for the term 2024–2026.
I have extensive experience teaching, supervising, and examining students at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, as well as within the psychology program. I have taught a wide range of courses in Work and Organizational Psychology and in research methodology at the Department of Psychology.
Currently, I lecture on topics such as psychological contracts and temporary employment, mixed methods, case studies, and individual perspectives on work and organization within both the PAO program and the psychology program. I supervise theses at both bachelor’s and master’s level and teach doctoral courses on sustainable careers and psychometrics.
Research Funding and Current Projects
Since completing my PhD in 2008, I have, as principal or co-applicant, received research funding from various sources, including the Academy of Finland, FORTE, the Swedish Retail and Wholesale Development Council, NOS-HS, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, Skandia, the Swedish Research Council (VR), and VINNOVA.
This funding has supported research on workplace transitions and competence transfer in times of organizational change (in collaboration with Gunnar Aronsson and Katharina Näswall); studies on job lock and its long-term effects on health (with Hugo Westerlund, Gunnar Aronsson, P.O. Östergren, and Johanna Stengård); and investigations into the role of organizational justice during periods of insecurity and change, and its impact on health, well-being, sick leave, and employee turnover (in collaboration with Constanze Leineweber and Constanze Eib).
Together with Susanna Toivanen, Constanze Eib, and Aleksandra Bujacz, I have also explored self-employed individuals’ working conditions and health over time, and examined the meaning of creative occupations and the opportunities and challenges related to entrepreneurship in Sweden.
Currently, I am part of the research program NOWSTARS (funded by FORTE), which focuses on employment forms. Within the framework of this program, I serve on the steering group and conduct research in two subprojects that investigate client-based work through consulting or self-employment, or by starting one’s own business.
My ongoing research focuses on individuals’ opportunities to create sustainable employment and working conditions that can support long-term career development. I am particularly interested in understanding the psychological mechanisms that link employment conditions and organizational factors to work-related attitudes, health, well-being, and behavioral outcomes – such as resignation, career change, or extended working life.
My publications can be found in Research Gate och Google Scholar and a selection is presented here below.
