This research examines placardisation (or employee shelving), an underexplored form of workplace marginalization in which managers deliberately sideline employees from meaningful work without formally terminating them.

While related to constructs such as workplace incivility, stigma, or abusive supervision, placardisation differs in two key ways. First, it is a targeted managerial strategy rather than a diffuse or emergent pattern of mistreatment. Second, it is closely tied to institutional contexts characterized by strong employment protections, where dismissal is difficult and costly.

The project aims to:
• Conceptually define placardisation and distinguish it from related constructs.
• Identify its antecedents, forms, and underlying managerial motivations.
• Examine its consequences for employees, managers, and organizations.
• Understand how institutional environments shape the emergence of such practices.

By doing so, the research contributes to broader debates on power, marginalization, and unintended consequences of labor protections in organizations.

The PhD will adopt a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative methods), combining inductive theory building with empirical testing.

The PhD student will be responsible for:
• Conducting a comprehensive literature review on workplace marginalization and related constructs.
• Designing and executing qualitative research (e.g., interviews, process analysis).
• Developing theoretical frameworks and hypotheses.
• Developing and validating a measurement instrument.
• Conducting quantitative studies (e.g., surveys).
• Publishing in academic journals and presenting at international conferences.

The Ph.D. student will be supervised by Dr. Lucas Amaral and Dr. Melvyn Hamstra and will be affiliated with the People and Organizations department.