Nicole Mayer-Ahuja

Prof. Dr. Nicole Mayer-Ahuja serves as Professor of Sociology with a dedicated focus on work, companies, and economics at the University of Göttingen's Department of Sociology. Her research examines labor dynamics through historical and transnational lenses, addressing precarization, working hours, and class society structures within contemporary capitalism.

Her scholarly work centers on work sociology and labor studies, investigating how wage labor perpetuates social divisions while exploring pathways toward collective solutions. Key interests include the historical evolution of working time conflicts, precarious employment in academic settings, and systemic inequalities in class societies. She critically analyzes policies like minimum wage implementation and advocates for democratic restructuring of work through her concept of "working time as a measure of freedom".

Recent 2025 publications reveal strong thematic continuity across labor sociology, political economy, and social policy. Her work consistently addresses precarious work conditions, historical labor movements, and contemporary time conflicts, with subfield emphases on academic labor struggles, minimum wage impacts, and 35-hour work week campaigns. These outputs demonstrate interdisciplinary engagement spanning sociology, economics, and policy studies while maintaining focus on worker agency and structural change.

Prof. Mayer-Ahuja leads a research team comprising four research assistants (Linda Beck MA, Mareike Biesel MA, Dr. Felix Bluhm, Marvin Hopp MA) and two student assistants (Elisa Bröcker BA, Vanessa Flis BA), administratively supported by secretary Eva Baron-Wegner. She actively disseminates findings through media (Deutschlandfunk, Neues Deutschland column "Conflict Field Work"), podcasts (The Academic Backstage), and high-profile conferences including Rosa Luxemburg Foundation events and trade union forums.