Karen Handley

Dr. Karen Handley is a Reader in Work & Organisation at the Oxford Brookes Business School. She holds a PhD in 2003 from Imperial College London and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. Her research focuses on workplace dynamics, diversity, and the evolving labour market, particularly for young graduates and older workers. She also explores hybrid work implications for productivity and wellbeing through British Academy-funded projects. Karen is affiliated with the Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice.

• Education: PhD (Imperial College London), MBA (Cranfield), MA (Warwick), BSc (Sussex)
• Teaching: Modules include Work, Employment & Globalisation; PhD Qualitative Methods; MBA Dissertation

Her research interests span gender norms in remote work, employability discourse, and knowledge-sharing in consultancy. She has published in journals like Work, Employment & Society and Gender, Work & Organization. Awards include the John Rex Prize for her MA thesis.

• Grants: Current British Academy grant (2024–2026) on hybrid work
• Past Projects: ESRC-funded client-consultancy relationships research

She leads pedagogic research on student engagement and assessment practices, emphasizing feedback innovation.