WELD Impact Lab · Research
The human side of work.
We study how people stay well, lead inclusively, and navigate a changing world of work. Our aim is to connect rigorous research with the everyday decisions that shape workplace life.
Three connected questions
What makes work better for people?
How do people stay well at work?
We examine mental health, everyday experiences, and the organizational conditions that shape wellbeing—with attention to how those experiences differ across people.
How do leaders help people thrive?
We study leadership and diversity, including how leaders develop and how workplace practices support people’s participation, connection, and ability to contribute.
Who belongs in the future of work?
We explore artificial intelligence, human–AI teams, and immersive environments through the lens of diversity, identity, and inclusion.
Selected publications
Questions that become evidence.
Recent collaborative scholarship by our lab director and coauthors, including student researchers.
How Curiosity Mitigates Mental Health Challenges in Organizations.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
Curiosity and mental health in organizational life.
Chatting Towards Inclusivity: A Digital Approach to Inclusion Action Plans and Leader Development.
Human Resource Management
Digital tools, inclusion action plans, and leader development.
Inclusive Avatars in the Metaverse: Learning from the Lived Experiences of People with Disabilities.
Journal of Strategic Information Systems
Disability, representation, and inclusion in immersive digital environments.
Read article →Navigating AI Convergence in Human–Artificial Intelligence Teams: A Signaling Theory Approach.
Journal of Organizational Behavior
How people interpret and navigate working alongside artificial intelligence.
Read article →The benefits of inclusive organizational behavior: Why diversity climate improves mental health and retention among women during a crisis.
Journal of Organizational Behavior
The intersection of diversity climate, mental health, and retention during crisis.
* Equal contribution. † Author was a student when the work was submitted. In-press work is accepted for publication; it is listed separately from dated publications.
Explore more of the research
Our director’s broader scholarship also addresses organizational justice, emotional labor, turnover, and learning. For publication details or a current CV, contact Dr. Van Wagoner.
From research to practice
Work unfolds over time.
Our stories do, too.
Our signature approach uses immersive workplace stories: realistic situations that unfold day by day. Participants respond to the choices and conversations they encounter, in their own words and through brief surveys.
For organizational partners, these stories create opportunities to practice hard moments, explore a planned change, or consider another person’s perspective. Measurement is built into each engagement so partners can learn what changed.
Student research
Learning by contributing.
Students help turn workplace questions into research: adapting stories, collecting and analyzing evidence, and communicating what they learn under faculty supervision.
Real questions. Shared credit.
Student coauthors appear throughout the selected publications above. CSUF summer research awards in 2024 and 2025 supported three student researchers with a combined $24,000 in funding.
Meet our people →