Sharon Clarke, PhD
Clarke is a professor in organizational psychology at The University of Manchester.
Background
Tell us a bit about your background: What is your area of research? What is your most recent journal-editing experience?
I have researched across a number of areas of occupational health psychology, including health and safety at work, psychological health and well-being, occupational stress, resilience, and flexible working. I am particularly interested in safety culture, safety climate, and identifying and remediating factors that influence workplace safety, particularly at an organizational level. My recent work has focused on workplace team resilience and examining how COVID-19 has affected traditional health and safety priorities in industry.
I have served on the editorial board of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (JOHP) since 2014, and acted as associate editor since 2015. I was previously associate editor (2009–15) and editor-in-chief (2016–20) at the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. I have extensive editorial experience but look forward to learning more from the expertise of my colleagues on the editorial board at this journal.
Priorities
Briefly, what are your main priorities? For example, how will you grow readership, what type of scholarship would you like to see in the journal, and what kind of content are you hoping to attract? Why is this journal important for the field? What is its relevance to society/public health? What are the hot issues in your area right now? What challenges, if any, lie ahead for the field?
I have been part of the editorial team at JOHP under two successive editors and have seen the journal strengthen its position as a top-tier journal. I want to continue with this success, solidifying the journal’s place as an international leader in the field of applied psychology and management. JOHP’s particular focus on occupational health psychology is unique; I aim to sharpen its reputation further and promote the field for scholars and practitioners. As the field matures, there is more need for high-quality reviews and conceptual developments, including new theoretical and conceptual innovations to move scholarship forward. I would like to extend the focus on practical applications, particularly high-quality intervention studies, and also encourage the development of theory. I see an opportunity to extend the range of different methodologies and forms of analysis published in JOHP and encourage this diversity, including qualitative and mixed-method methodologies, as well as maintaining high quality and rigor in quantitative research.
Given the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, occupational health psychology has never been more critical to understanding and protecting the health, safety, and well-being of workers. Significant challenges lie ahead to address complex issues in workplaces to ensure positive work environments that promote safe and healthy workers.
Plans
Do you have plans for a special issue or changes to the editorial process? Are you making any changes?
I would like to have more special sections to highlight topical issues and increase readership. I would like to introduce a competitive process to call for proposals and identify high-quality proposals, drawing on the expertise of the editorial board to evaluate the quality of submissions. Special sections will encourage innovative and impactful articles focusing on topical issues and using methods of interest and developing popular conceptual frameworks. I will aim to deliver special sections with impact and innovation, which will increase media coverage and gain attention through social media platforms. Special sections can produce highly citable articles, which can increase impact within academia and beyond. I would like to build upon JOHP’s reputation for valuing inclusivity and aim to increase global readership and author diversity. I will actively encourage a broad range of submissions and promote the journal through contacts, networks, and scholarly meetings. This diversity should also be represented through an editorial board that is balanced in the national, ethnic, and gender backgrounds of the editors, as well as methodological and research expertise. I believe that the appointment of a strong team is critical in efforts to foster the journal’s international reach and attract new audiences.
