People

Professor Melissa Tyler

Professor
EBS - Organisation Studies and Human Resource Management
Professor Melissa Tyler
  • Email

  • Telephone

    +44 (0) 1206 874112

  • Location

    EBS.3.81, Colchester Campus

  • Academic support hours

    You can find details of Academic Support hours on the EBS UG and PG information page on Moodle or by calling EBS Student Services on 01206873911

Profile

Biography

My research focuses largely on gender, feminist theory and the body in work and organisational settings; emotion, aesthetics and sexuality in the workplace, and organisational space, place and materiality, and on precarious work in the creative and cultural sector. I am co-chair of a Gender, Work and Organization Judith Butler research network - please get in touch if you are interested in joining. I welcome inquiries from potential PhD students and research collaborators on a variety of topics, including: * Gender and LGBT inequality in the workplace * Feminist thinking and critical theories of work and organization * Space, place and workplace settings * Embodied experiences and perceptions of work, particularly relating to emotion, aesthetics and/or sexuality at work * Freelance/self-employed work in the creative and cultural sector

Qualifications

  • B Soc Sci (Hons) Cultural Studies

  • PG Dip (Research Methods)

  • PhD (Sociology)

Appointments

University of Essex

  • Professor of Work and Organization Studies, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/1/2011 - present)

  • Co-Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Society, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/1/2019 - present)

  • Associate Director of Research and Impact, OS/HRM group, University of Essex (1/2011 - present)

Other academic

  • Associate Editor, Organization (3/9/2022 - present)

  • Member of the Distinguished Advisory Board, Gender, Work and Organization (9/2007 - present)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Feminist perspectives on work and organization

Open to supervise

Gender, sexuality and embodiment at work

Open to supervise

Organizational space, place, aesthetics and materiality

Open to supervise

Emotional, aesthetic and sexualized forms of labour

Open to supervise

Sales-service work and consumer culture

Open to supervise

Gender, sexuality and the body in work organizations

Open to supervise

Any work drawing on and developing feminist theory

Open to supervise

The organization, management and lived experience of organizational space, place and setting

Open to supervise

Emotional, aesthetic and sexualized labour in sales-service work

Open to supervise

Current research

An ethnographic study of sales-service work in licensed and unlicensed sex shops in Soho, London

Lived experiences of gender, sexuality and ageing at work (with Kat Riach and Nick Rumens)

Gender and commemoration in work organizations (with Karen Dale and Leanne Cutcher)

Discrimination and disrespect in the workplace (with Philip Hancock)

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Organisational Behaviour (BE410)

  • Philosophies of Research and Advanced Qualitative Research Methods (BE968)

  • Professional and Academic Development (Management and Marketing) (BE909)

Previous supervision

Magdalena Oldziejewska
Magdalena Oldziejewska
Thesis title: The Art of Herstory Keeping: The Feminist Library’S Materialities and Organisational Practices
Degree subject: Human Resource Management and Organisation Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 15/3/2024
Georgie May Rider
Georgie May Rider
Thesis title: 'Up in the Air': A Feminist Account of Aerial Performance as Gendered Edgework
Degree subject: Management Studies
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/10/2023

Publications

Journal articles (45)

Tyler, M. and Riach, K., (2024). “Getting a grip”? Phenomenological insights into handling work place in London’s Soho. Human Relations. 77 (2), 172-199

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2024). Live performers’ experiences of precarity and recognition during Covid-19 and beyond. Work, Employment and Society. 38 (6), 1569-1590

Tyler, M., Butler, J., Cutcher, L., Milroy, T., Lloyd, M., Riach, K., Kenny, K., Al‐Amoudi, I., Guschke, BL., Harding, N. and Smolović‐Jones, N., (2024). Strangers in conversation: Judith Butler with gender, work and organization. Gender, Work & Organization. 31 (4), 1444-1462

Cutcher, L., Riach, K. and Tyler, M., (2022). Splintering Organizational Subjectivities: Older workers and the dynamics of recognition, vulnerability and resistance. Organization Studies. 43 (6), 973-992

Tyler, M. and Hales, S., (2022). Heroism and/as injurious speech: Recognition, precarity and inequality in health and social care work. Gender, Work and Organization. 29 (4), 1199-1218

Noury, L., Ahuja, S., Parker, M., Sturdy, A. and Tyler, M., (2022). In praise of boredom at work. Organization. 29 (5), 791-805

Tyler, M. and Vachhani, SJ., (2021). Chasing rainbows? A recognition-based critique of Primark's precarious commitment to inclusion. Organization. 28 (2), 247-265

Hales, S., Riach, K. and Tyler, M., (2021). Close Encounters: Intimate service interactions in lap dancing work as a nexus of ‘self-others-things’. Organization Studies. 42 (4), 555-574

Hancock, P., Tyler, M. and Godiva, M., (2021). Thursday Night and a Singalong ‘Sung Alone’: The Experiences of a Self-employed Performer During the Pandemic. Work, Employment and Society. 35 (6), 1155-1166

Cutcher, L., Dale, K. and Tyler, M., (2020). Emotion, aesthetics and sexuality at work: Theoretical challenges and future directions. Gender, Work & Organization. 27 (1), 1-5

Cutcher, L., Dale, K. and Tyler, M., (2019). ‘Remembering as Forgetting’: Organizational commemoration as a politics of recognition. Organization Studies. 40 (2), 267-290

Tyler, M., (2019). Reassembling difference? Rethinking inclusion through/as embodied ethics. Human Relations. 72 (1), 48-68

Hales, S., Riach, K. and Tyler, M., (2019). Putting sexualized labour in the picture: Encoding ‘reasonable entitlement’ in the lap dancing industry. Organization. 26 (6), 783-801

Milroy, T., Cutcher, L. and Tyler, M., (2019). Stopped in our tracks: From ‘giving an account’ to an ethics of recognition in feminist praxis. Gender, Work and Organization. 26 (4), 393-410

Tyler, M., (2019). Queer Business: Queering Organization Sexualities by NickRumens. London: Routledge, 2018, 230 pp., ISBN: 978‐1‐138‐81401 (hbk), ISBN: 978‐1‐315‐74778‐1 (ebk).. Gender, Work & Organization. 26 (11), 1661-1664

Tyler, M., (2019). Seduction: Men, Masculinity and Mediated Intimacy by RachelO'Neill. Cambridge: Polity, 2018. pp. 256, Hardback £55.00 €62.19, 978‐1‐509‐52155‐5; Paperback £16.99 €19.21, 978‐1‐509‐52156‐2; Open eBook £16.99 €19.21, 978‐1‐509‐52159‐3. ISBN‐13: 978‐1‐5095‐2155‐5 and ISBN‐13: 978‐1‐5095‐2156‐2. Gender, Work & Organization. 26 (1), 79-82

Duffy, K., Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2017). Still Red Hot? Postfeminism and Gender Subjectivity in the Airline Industry. Gender, Work and Organization. 24 (3), 260-273

Riach, K., Rumens, N. and Tyler, M., (2016). Towards a Butlerian methodology: Undoing organizational performativity through anti-narrative research. Human Relations. 69 (11), 2069-2089

Pullen, A., Thanem, T., Tyler, M. and Wallenberg, L., (2016). Postscript: Queer Endings/Queer Beginnings. Gender, Work & Organization. 23 (1), 84-87

Cutcher, L., Dale, K., Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2016). Spaces and Places of Remembering and Commemoration. Organization. 23 (1), 3-9

Pullen, A., Thanem, T., Tyler, M. and Wallenberg, L., (2015). Sexual Politics, Organizational Practices: Interrogating Queer Theory, Work and Organization. Gender, Work & Organization. 23 (1), 1-6

Hancock, P., Sullivan, K. and Tyler, M., (2015). A Touch Too Much: Negotiating Masculinity, Propriety and Proximity in Intimate Labour. Organization Studies. 36 (12), 1715-1739

Brewis, J., Tyler, M. and Mills, A., (2014). Sexuality and organizational analysis--30 years on: Editorial introduction. Organization. 21 (3), 305-311

Riach, K., Tyler, M. and Rumens, N., (2014). Un/doing Chrononormativity: Negotiating Ageing, Gender and Sexuality in Organizational Life. Organization Studies. 35 (11), 1677-1698

Tyler, M., (2012). Working in the other Square Mile: performing and placing sexualized labour in Soho's sex shops. Work, Employment & Society. 26 (6), 899-917

Tyler, M., (2011). Tainted love: From dirty work to abject labour in Soho's sex shops. Human Relations. 64 (11), 1477-1500

Tyler, M. and Cohen, L., (2010). Spaces that Matter: Gender Performativity and Organizational Space. Organization Studies. 31 (2), 175-198

Tyler, M., (2009). Behind a painted smile: gendered aesthetics and emotional labour. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion. 3 (1), 65-71

Tyler, M., (2009). Growing Customers: Sales-service work in the children`s culture industries. Journal of Consumer Culture. 9 (1), 55-77

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2008). Beyond the Confines: Management, Colonization and the Everyday. Critical Sociology. 34 (1), 29-49

Korczynski, M. and Tyler, M., (2008). Introduction. Journal of Consumer Culture. 8 (3), 307-320

Tyler, M. and Cohen, L., (2008). Management in/as Comic Relief: Queer Theory and Gender Performativity in The Office. Gender, Work & Organization. 15 (2), 113-132

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2007). Un/doing Gender and the Aesthetics of Organizational Performance. Gender, Work & Organization. 14 (6), 512-533

Tyler, M. and Wilkinson, A., (2007). The tyranny of corporate slenderness: `corporate anorexia' as a metaphor for our age. Work, Employment and Society. 21 (3), 537-549

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2005). Gibson Burrell: Diabolical Architect. The Sociological Review. 53 (1_suppl), 46-62

Tyler, M., (2005). Women in change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 18 (6), 561-577

Russell, R. and Tyler, M., (2005). Branding and Bricolage. Childhood. 12 (2), 221-237

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2004). ‘MOT Your Life’: Critical Management Studies and the Management of Everyday Life. Human Relations. 57 (5), 619-645

Cohen, L. and Tyler, M., (2004). The Office (27 November 2003–18 January 2004), the Photographers’ Gallery, London. Work, Employment and Society. 18 (3), 621-629

Tyler, M., (2004). Managing between the Sheets: Lifestyle Magazines and the Management of Sexuality in Everyday Life. Sexualities. 7 (1), 81-106

Russell, R. and Tyler, M., (2002). Thank Heaven for Little Girls: `Girl Heaven' and the Commercial Context of Feminine Childhood. Sociology. 36 (3), 619-637

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2001). Managing Subjectivity and the Dialectic of Self-Consciousness: Hegel and Organization Theory. Organization. 8 (4), 565-585

Taylor, S. and Tyler, M., (2000). Emotional Labour and Sexual Difference in the Airline Industry. Work, Employment and Society. 14 (1), 77-95

Tyler, M. and Taylor, S., (1998). The Exchange of Aesthetics: Women's Work and ‘The Gift’. Gender, Work & Organization. 5 (3), 165-171

Tyler, M. and Abbott, P., (1998). Chocs Away: Weight Watching in the Contemporary Airline Industry. Sociology. 32 (3), 433-450

Books (8)

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2024). Performing Artists and Precarity Work in the Contemporary Entertainment Industries. Palgrave Macmillan. 3031661184. 9783031661181

Tyler, M., (2019). Judith Butler and Organization Theory. Routledge. 1351673823. 9781351673822

Tyler, M., (2019). Soho at Work: Pleasure and Place in Contemporary London. Cambridge University Press. 1107182735. 9781107182738

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2009). The Management of Everyday Life. Palgrave. 9780230524798

Abbott, P., (2006). An Introduction to Sociology. Routledge

Abbott, P., Wallace, C. and Tyler, M., (2005). An Introduction to Sociology Feminist Perspectives. Routledge. 0415312590. 9780415312592

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2001). Work, Postmodernism and Organization A Critical Introduction. SAGE. 1847876463. 9781847876461

Hancock, P., (2000). The body, culture, and society an introduction. Open University Press

Book chapters (12)

Hales, S., Galbally, P. and Tyler, M., Lost for words: Difficult conversations about ethics, reflexivity and research governance. In: Difficult Conversations: A Feminist Dialogue. Editors: Ryan-Flood, R., James-Hawkins, L. and Crowhurst, I., . Routledge

Tyler, M., (2023). ‘Adventures through alterity’: Judith Butler and methodology. In: Handbook of Feminist Research Methodologies in Management and Organization Studies. Edward Elgar Publishing. 39- 54. 9781800377028

Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., (2019). When the shoe is on the Other foot. In: Gender, Embodiment and Fluidity in Organization and Management. Routledge. 25- 41

Hancock, PG. and Tyler, M., (2018). Make Do and Mend? Working Postfeminism and Vintage. In: Postfeminism and Organization. Editors: Lewis, P., Benschop, Y. and Simpson, Y., . Routledge. 181- 196

Rumens, N. and Tyler, M., (2015). Towards a Queer Politics and Ethics within Organization Studies. In: The Routledge Companion to Ethics, Politics and Organizations. Editors: Pullen, A. and Rhodes, C., . Routledge. 447- 461. 9780415821261

Tyler, M., (2014). Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986). In: The Oxford Handbook of Process Philosophy and Organization Studies. Editors: Helin, J., Hernes, T., Hjorth, D. and Holt, R., . Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-966935-6

Tyler, M., (2012). 'Glamour Girls, Macho Men and Everything in Between': Un/doing Gender and Dirty Work in Soho's Sex Shops. In: Dirty Work - Concepts and Identities. Editors: Simpson, R., Slutskaya, N., Lewis, P. and Hopfl, H., . Palgrave Connect. 9780230277137

Tyler, M., (2011). Postmodern Feminism and Organization Studies: A Marriage of Inconvenience?. In: Handbook of Gender, Work and Organization. Editors: Jeanes, E., Knights, D. and Yancey Martin, P., . John Wiley & Sons. 9- 24. 9781444394726

Tyler, M. and Cohen, L., (2010). Living and Working in Grey Areas: Gender (In)Visibility and Organization Space. In: Revealing and Concealing Gender. Editors: Lewis, P. and Simpson, R., . Palgrave Macmillan. 23- 38. 9780230212114

Tyler, M., (2009). Managing under the Covers: Lifestyle Media and the Management of Sexuality in Everyday Life. In: The Management of Everyday Life. Editors: Hancock, P. and Tyler, M., . Palgrave Macmillan. 23- 38. 9780230524798

Hancock, PG. and Tyler, M., (2008). Emotion at Work. In: Contemporary Human Resource Management. Editors: Redman, T. and Wilkinson, A., . FT/Prentice Hall. 472- 491. 9780273716334

Hancock, PG. and Tyler, M., (2007). It's All Too Beautiful: Emotion and Organization in the Aesthetic Economy. In: The Emotional Organization: Passions and Power. Editors: Fineman, S., . Wiley-Blackwell. 202- 217. 9781405160308

Conferences (1)

Tyler, M. and Hancock, P., Performing During/After Lockdown: A Study of the Impact of Covid-19 On Live Performers in the UK

Other (1)

Rumens, N. and Tyler, M., (2015).Queer Theory,Routledge

Grants and funding

2023

Creating an equitable and sustainable future for freelance / self-employed workers in the entertainment industry

University of Essex (ESRC IAA)

Evaluation ACE Freelance Study of Cultural Workforce

Arts Council England

Grave matters: An affective ethnography of cemeterial work

British Academy

Creating an equitable and sustainable future for freelance / self-employed workers in the entertainment industry - Impact Leave

University of Essex (QR Impact Fund)

2020

Performing during/after lockdown: A study of the impact of COVID-19 on live performers in the UK

British Academy

Contact

mjtyler@essex.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1206 874112

Location:

EBS.3.81, Colchester Campus

Academic support hours:

You can find details of Academic Support hours on the EBS UG and PG information page on Moodle or by calling EBS Student Services on 01206873911