I study how leaders can make workplace interaction more productive.
As work has become more complex and interdependent, individual and organizational performance increasingly depend on the success of crucial interactions: both developmental exchanges like advice, feedback, and voice, and collaborative ones, like communicating virtually. My research coalesces around one core idea: examining these challenging workplace interactions as situated, relational processes can shed light on how to improve their outcomes.
In one line of research, I investigate barriers to and opportunities for improving developmental interactions - both improving their relational consequences and the quality of their content. In a second stream, I investigate how employees can succeed in the challenging communication contexts of the future: virtual and global work. My research employs a mixed-methods approach that draws from field and experimental evidence. A sample of my papers in each of these streams is below.
Relational Consequences of Developmental Interactions
This area of research considers how developmental interactions can influence employees' work relationships.
Improving the Content of Developmental Interactions
In this area of research, I illuminate barriers to and opportunities for improving the content of developmental interactions.
In this line of research, I focus on how virtual and global work impacts employees, with a view toward improving their abilities to navigate these challenging contexts.
Last updated spring 2025
As work has become more complex and interdependent, individual and organizational performance increasingly depend on the success of crucial interactions: both developmental exchanges like advice, feedback, and voice, and collaborative ones, like communicating virtually. My research coalesces around one core idea: examining these challenging workplace interactions as situated, relational processes can shed light on how to improve their outcomes.
In one line of research, I investigate barriers to and opportunities for improving developmental interactions - both improving their relational consequences and the quality of their content. In a second stream, I investigate how employees can succeed in the challenging communication contexts of the future: virtual and global work. My research employs a mixed-methods approach that draws from field and experimental evidence. A sample of my papers in each of these streams is below.
Relational Consequences of Developmental Interactions
This area of research considers how developmental interactions can influence employees' work relationships.
- Blunden, H. & Steffel, M. (2023). “The downside of decision delegation: When transferring decision responsibility incurs interpersonal costs.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 176, 104251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2023.104251
- Abel J. E., Vani, P., Abi-Esber, N., Blunden, H., & Schroeder, J. (2022). “Kindness in short supply: Evidence for inadequate prosocial input.” Current Opinion in Psychology, 101458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101458
- Blunden, H., Logg, J. M., Brooks, A. W., John, L. K., & Gino, F. (2019). “Seeker beware: The interpersonal costs of ignoring advice.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 150, 83-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.12.002
- John, L. K., Blunden, H., & Liu, H. (2019). “Shooting the messenger.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 148(4), 644. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000586
- Brodsky, A., Blunden, H., & Burris, E. “The role of interaction frequency, mode, and target in predicting employee challenging voice.” Working Paper.
Improving the Content of Developmental Interactions
In this area of research, I illuminate barriers to and opportunities for improving the content of developmental interactions.
- Blunden, H.*, Kristal, A.*, Whillans, A., Yoon, J., Burd, H., Bremer, G., & Yeomans, M. (2025). “Eliciting advice instead of feedback improves developmental input.” Management Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03207 *Both authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
- John, L. K., Blunden, H., Milkman, K., Foschini, L., & Tuckfield, B. (2022). “The limits of inconspicuous incentives.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 172, 104180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104180
- Guenoun, B., Blunden, H., & Zhang, T. “When curiosity is generosity: Social curiosity increases advice quality” Invited for second round revision at Journal of Applied Psychology.
In this line of research, I focus on how virtual and global work impacts employees, with a view toward improving their abilities to navigate these challenging contexts.
- Cho, J., Morris, M.W., Blunden, H., Li, J., & Pan, J. (2025). “Thinking like a chameleon: How diversity ideologies differentially enable cultural accommodation.” Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001340
- Blunden, H. & Brodsky, A. (2024). “A review of virtual impression management behaviors and outcomes." Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063231225160
- Blunden, H.* & Brodsky, A.* (2020). “Beyond the emoticon: Are there unintentional cues of emotion in email?” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220936054 *Both authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
- Blunden, H.*, Sohn, W.*, Brodsky, A., & Bernstein, E. “Time pressure and transitions in a new age of virtual work.” Working Paper.
- Blunden, H. & Brodsky, A. “When time is on your side: The influence of virtual communication on conflict escalation and de-escalation.” Working Paper.
Last updated spring 2025