Welcome to the School of Work and Organisational Studies. Our mission is to be Australia’s leading centre for scholarship and education on work and employment.
Founded 75 years ago as the discipline of Industrial Relations, the School continues to play a defining role in shaping national and international conversations about work — spanning public policy, labour markets and regulation, organisational practices and leadership, and the lived experience of work. Today, we address the evolving challenges facing organisations and societies.
At the School of Work and Organisational Studies, you will engage with distinguished faculty, diverse peers, and industry leaders in an environment designed to both challenge and support you. We are proud of our vibrant community and excited to help you shape the future of business.
I invite you to learn more about our School and become part of our story.
The School of Work and Organisational Studies (WOS) is a high-performing, values-driven academic community that shapes work and employment across policy, organisations, and society.
We bring together a diverse community of scholars working across industrial relations, organisational behaviour, human resource management, and related areas such as leadership and management education.
Our academics provide intellectual leadership and deliver specialist teaching across undergraduate, postgraduate, and executive programs — including the Business School’s flagship management and MBA programs.
Discover undergraduate, postgraduate and research courses in human resources and industrial relations and management.
Our research aims to examine, analyse and influence the world of work and organisations in Australia and beyond by exploring challenges around the employment relationship and the workplace. We contribute directly to knowledge, policy and practice in the fields of management, leadership, organisational behaviour, human resource management and employment relations.
We are a recognised leader in research excellence and societal impact. Our academics are trusted advisers to government, regulators, and senior organisational leaders, and are frequently invited to contribute to national policy on issues such as equity and inclusion, wage theft, workers’ compensation, modern slavery, and workplace wellbeing. We are home to the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work.
At the School of Work and Organisational Studies, our research themes focus on:
The Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies recently launched a book written by the late John Michael O’Brien, documenting the history and story of the study of our department and our discipline at the University of Sydney.
The book is a story of the evolution of Industrial Relations research and teaching and how the Department of Industrial Relations became a Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies in the Business School at the University of Sydney.
“The question explored in this monograph is whether this process constituted a radical change in the philosophy or the educational direction of the group or was primarily an incremental adjustment to changing economic and intellectual environments and changes in students’ preferences. Were all the changes incremental, or were some changes the result of a more deliberate strategy?”
In 2023, the University of Sydney celebrated 70 years of continuous teaching of industrial relations. As well as celebrating our history, this book was written for the future, to share with our future students, staff and friends, the strong body of scholarship they are a part of and to which they can contribute. The occasion was marked by the development of this book and celebrated at a launch in November 2023 with people who have been a part of the history and the continuing community.
The book is available to download for free (pdf, 3.9MB). If you would like a professionally printed copy, please contact us to receive one.
The publication of the November 2021 issue of the Journal of Industrial Relations marks the end of a 22-year period where Australia's leading journal in this field was based at the University of Sydney Business School.
This was the second such long run of editorship: the journal had previously been based at the University from its founding in 1959 (making it one of the first industrial relations journals in the world) until 1974.
In this final editorial (pdf, 491KB), the outgoing team reflects upon the trajectory of the journal and the practice, research and teaching of industrial relations.
Professor Anya Johnson
Associate Professor Alex Veen
Associate Professor Myra Hamilton
Jen Chambers
jen.chambers@sydney.edu.au
+61 2 9036 7641
