2025 Future of Work Research Prize launched
8 September 2025
The Center for Leadership in the Future of Work is delighted to announce the launch of the fifth edition of the Future of Work Global Research Prize, supported by The Adecco Group.
The future of work, or how work will change in the coming decades given new developments in technology and demographic and societal trends, is a topic of increasing importance to practitioners and policymakers. But the future of work appears far less in management scholarship than would be expected given its prevalence in society, and research relevant to the topic in management thus far is fragmented.
The goal of this research competition is to foster management scholarship on the future of work by supporting promising research on the topic, to encourage management scholars to add to ongoing dialogues on the future of work, offer solutions, and collectively shape the future of work.
Scholars are invited to pitch their research ideas in a maximum 3-minute video, from which a set of finalists will be selected to submit full proposals. Ideas should focus on empirical research (i.e., involving the use of original and/or archival data); both quantitative and qualitative research methods are welcomed within the scope of the competition. Pitches and proposals will be evaluated by a panelist of academics and practitioners.
In 2024, the Future of Work Global Research Prize was awarded to Max Bogaert for his project “Re-imagining the Future of Work” with collaborators Nicky Dries and Joost Luyckx. First runner-up is Tyler Fezzey for her project “The Wild West Future of Work” with collaborators Peter Harms and Joshua White.
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$3,000 prize for one finalist. Funds should be used for costs for data collection (e.g., participant recruitment, purchasing datasets), equipment necessary for the research (e.g., software), travel related to the research (e.g., field work, conference presentations).
The prize winner is featured on the UZH CLFW Newsletter, annual report, website, and social media, reaching out to a broad audience of academics and practitioners.
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Open to PhD students, postdocs, and faculty at any level; requires a current university affiliation.
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First stage (ends October 19th, 2025):
Interested applicants submit a 3-minute maximum video that outlines their idea, sketches out a study design, and describes the idea’s theoretical and practical relevance.
The 3-minute video pitch should answer the following questions:
• What are your research questions and hypotheses?
• What research methods would you use to answer the questions?
• Why is your idea important to theory and practice?
• What expertise do you have relevant to the questions and who is part of your research team?Applicants should also provide a one-paragraph summary of their research along with a related photo, which may be included in the CLFW annual report. Materials should be submitted by email to Dr. Ryan Miller (ryan.miller@business.uzh.ch) by October 19th, 2025.
Second stage (ends November 31st, 2025):
Based on the judges’ scores, five finalists are chosen to submit in-depth 5-page proposals that outline in detail research aims, study design, target journal, budget, etc. Finalists will be informed by October 31st, 2025. Full proposals should be submitted by November 31st, 2025, by email, to Dr. Ryan Miller (ryan.miller@business.uzh.ch).
Third stage (ends January 15th, 2026):
Judges score these proposals for research promise. The videos of these finalists are posted on the website with the opportunity for the public to vote for their favorite. The number of votes that each video receives is weighed in selecting the finalists. From the finalists, the winner is selected and featured on the Center website. The winner is informed by January 15th, 2026.
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The winner receives an award certificate that will be issued in person as possible (i.e., at AOM 2026) or delivered through the mail.
The winner submits a report (template to be provided) on how the funds have been used within the year after receiving the funds, describing the research’s initial results, reporting the budget as used, etc.
The winner presents their working paper in the UZH Organizational Behavior Reading Group within a year after the receipt of the award.
The winner lists the UZH Center for Leadership in the Future of Work as a funding agency for their research.