Hold to account: Conceptualising abuse of power in the workplace and strengthening accountability pathways

Department: College of Business and Social Sciences

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Basis: Full Time

Closing Date: Thursday 24^th April 2025 23.59 (UK time)

Supervisor: Dr Galina Goncharenko, Prof Teerooven Soobaroyen & Dr Siqi Wang

Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship, supported by the College of Business and Social Sciences to be undertaken within Aston Business School at Aston University.

The position is available to start in October 2025.

Financial Support

This studentship includes a bursary to cover the tuition fees and an annual maintenance allowance for living costs. 

Background to the Project

The post-#MeToo society demands greater accountability for workplace misconduct. However, despite ongoing social discourses led by activists and tech start-ups offering innovative solutions for reporting harassment, bullying and other abuses of power, many organisations are still unable to tackle toxic workplace behaviours. This project aims to advance scholarly knowledge and public understanding of accountability for the abuse of power in workplace settings. It strengthens interdisciplinary links between the conceptual understanding of the abuse of power and the acts of holding power to account acknowledging both their intellectual and procedural aspects. It addresses (1) knowledge gaps in what constitutes the abuse of power within complex hierarchies and power disparity, (2) the stigma of reporting misconduct, and (3) the lack of effective accountability mechanisms. Contextually, this project will focus on the UK considering recent regulatory change, notably the Worker Protection Act 2023 (Amendment of Equality Act 2010), which came into force in October 2024. Employers are required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work. Yet, the legislative changes are limited to matters of compensation and employer liability.

The project deploys the theory of social movements embracing collective action and dialogic organising for advancing public understanding and awareness and transforming it into new organisational practices. It will also draw on relevant research from the field of critical accounting that links accounting to larger socio-political settings and the intellectual problematics of accountability. In addition, the project will engage with research on organisational complicity to understand the genesis of power abuse, hesitancy, and lack of transformative action in organisational settings. Finally, the project builds on prior research into the situational complexity of harassment and victimisation accumulated in sociology and gender studies to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon for which accountability is to be discharged.

By harnessing interdisciplinary synergies and interconnecting relevant research on power and accountability, the project will produce a body of novel research addressing the pressing challenges of making workplaces psychologically and physically safe, i.e. an environment meeting contemporary social demands and employee expectations. Empirically, the project builds on the emancipatory potential of community and expert activism to advance the understanding of accountability for abuse of power and harassment in workplace settings. By embracing ethnographic research design, the project gains contextually rich analytical insight from organisational managers and experts in human rights, psychology, law, technology, and survivor support.

The project will offer new theoretical and analytical insights to facilitate research-informed transformations empowered by organisational accountability for creating harassment-free workplaces. Considering the high level of social interest in instruments of holding power to account, the research findings will provide solid evidence for policymakers and expert community committed to human rights and employee empowerment, enabling them to respond to the challenges of advancing accountability in the workplace. The project will also boost public awareness facilitating greater organisational accountability built on potential synergies of digital innovations and the cultivation of behavioural consciousness at work.

Person Specification

The successful candidate should hold a Masters degree in the social sciences (or related disciplines) with a Merit overall (or equivalent) with a dissertation/research element, PLUS a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution).

Contact information

For formal enquiries about this project please contact Dr Galina Goncharenko [email protected].

Submitting an application

Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience. 
4. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
5. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
6. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Apply for this position here

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If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at [email protected]