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Sellinger School of Business and Management

John W. Michel

Associate Professor of Management, Busch Faculty Scholar
John Michel



Research Areas

  • Workplace fun
  • Interpersonal relationships at work
  • Leadership and interpersonal influence

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany, Organizational Studies
  • M.S., University of Baltimore, Industrial/Organizational Psychology
  • B.S., Towson University, Psychology

Biography 

John W. Michel, Ph.D. is the Busch Faculty Chair and an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Sellinger School of Business and Management, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼éUniversity Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Organizational Studies from the State University of New York at Albany.

As an organizational psychologist and award-winning researcher, Dr. Michel conducts research on workplace fun, positive social connections at work, and supportive leadership, with a focus on how to improve prosocial and collaborative behaviors, engagement, well-being, and retention among employees at work. Most recently, his research has focused on how building friendships at work through workplace fun can help combat issues of

loneliness and emotional exhaustion plaguing employees to improve well-being and performance at work. To date Professor Michel has published more than 30 articles and book chapters. His work has been cited more than 3,000 times according to Google Scholar and read more than on 95,000 times according to Researchgate.net.

Professor Michel teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of leadership, organizational behavior, and human resources management. He has also consulted for several public and private organizations assisting in the development of management training programs, selection and retention practices, employee climate surveys, and other human capital related initiatives.

Professor Michel currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Business & Psychology, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, human Performance and the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and regularly serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for several other top journals in the fields of management and applied psychology.

Selected Publications

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., Kudler, E., & Pons, S. (2023). ‘Tis the season: Enhancing the workplace holiday party. Employee Relations.

Michel, J.W., Tews, M.J., & Tracey, J.B. (2020). Validating effective managerial behaviors for the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32 (6), 2175-2193.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Stafford, K. (2020). Social support and turnover among entry-level service employees: Differentiating type, source, and basis of attachment. Human Resource Management, 59, 221-234.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Stafford, K. (2019). Abusive coworker treatment, coworker support, and employee turnover. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 26 (4), 413-423.

Michel, J.W., Tews, M.J., & Allen, D.G. (2019). Fun in the workplace: A review and expanded theoretical perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 29 (1), 98-110.

Michel, J.W. (2017). Antecedents of organizational citizenship behaviors: Examining the incremental validity of self-interest and prosocial motives. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 24 (1), 385-400.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Noe, R.A. (2017). Does fun promote learning? The relationship between fun in the workplace and informal learning. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 46-55.

Michel, J.W., & Tews, M.J. (2016). Does leader-member exchange accentuate the relationship between leader behaviors and organizational citizenship behaviors? Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 23 (1), 13-26.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., Xu, S., & Drost, A. (2015). Workplace fun matters…but what else? Employee Relations, 37 (2), 248-267.

Michel, J.W., Tews, M.J., & Kavanagh, M.J. (2014). Development of the customer-centered behavior measure. Service Industries Journal, 34 (13), 1075-1091.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Allen, D.G. (2014). Fun and friends: The impact of workplace fun and constituent attachment on turnover in a hospitality context. Human Relations, 67 (8), 923-946.

Tews, M.J., Stafford, K., & Michel, J.W. (2014). Life happens and people matter: Critical events, constituent attachment, and turnover among part-time hospitality employees. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 38, 99-105.

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Stafford, K. (2013). Does fun pay? The impact of workplace fun on employee turnover and performance. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54 (4), 370-382. 
* Winner of the Best Paper Award in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly for 2013

Tews, M.J., Michel, J.W., & Ellingson, J.E. (2013). The impact of coworker support on employee turnover in the hospitality industry. Group & Organization Management, 38 (5), 630-653.

Michel, J.W., Wallace, D.L., & Rawlings, R.A. (2013). Charismatic leaders: The role of admiration and system-justification. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 34 (5) 469-487.

Michel, J.W., Kavanagh, M.J., & Tracey, J.B. (2013). Got support? The impact of supportive work practices on the perceptions, motivation, and behavior of customer-contact employees. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54 (2), 161-173.
 * Finalist for the Best Paper Award in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly for 2013

Professional Memberships

  • Academy of Management
  • Network of Leadership Scholars
  • District of Columbia Management Research Consortium
  • Positive Relationships at Work Micro community
  • Southern Management Association
  • Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Professional Service

Editorial Board Member:

  • Cornell Hospitality Quarterly
  • Journal of Business & Psychology
  • Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies

Ad-hoc Reviewer

  • Employee Relations
  • Human Performance
  • Human Relations
  • International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management
  • International Journal of Selection and Assessment
  • Leadership Quarterly
  • Journal of Management
  • Journal of Managerial Psychology
  • Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
  • Personnel Review

Honors and Awards

  • STARS Award for Excellence in Research, Sellinger School of Business & Management, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é (2018)
  • Beta Gamma Sigma (Business) National Honor Society (Inducted in 2018)
  • Featured in the GOM Editor’s Choice Collections in the area of Work Attitudes and Support (2015)
  • Winner of the Best Paper Award in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (2013)
  • Finalist for the Best Paper Award in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (2013)
  • Winner of the CHRIE Conference Best Paper award (2013)
  • Outstanding Scholar Award, College of Business & Economics, Towson University (2011)
  • SHRM Symposium on the Future of HR Education, Society for Human Resource Management (2004)
  • Psi Chi (Psychology) National Honor Society (Inducted in 1999)

Personal Information

John lives in Maryland with his wife and two daughters. He’s an award-winning homebrewer. In his spare time, he likes hiking, kayaking, running, and playing the guitar.  John especially likes to travel with his family. His favorite trip to date was hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.