Rebecca's research interests lie in the area of organisational behaviour, includinghealth and wellbeing at work, team dynamics, leadership and social identity in organizations, particularly (but not exclusively) healthcare organisations.

Rebecca’s current research programs focus on resilience and wellbeing at work. She is also interested in the impact of gender at work as well as team performance, particularly team innovation.

Rebecca is also researching in the area of leadership. She is actively researching how transformational leadership can increase the effectiveness of teams, particularly multidisciplinary teams. She is also investigating shared leadership in teams and its potential to increase team innovation.

Rebecca has published in numerous top tier internationally recognised journals including the Journal of Organizational Behavior (ABDC A*), Human Resource Management (US) (ABDC A*), Human Relations (ABDC A*), Journal of Business Research (ABDC A), Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (ABDC A). She has also published in healthcare management, with articles published in Health Care Management Review (ABDC A), Journal of Advanced Nursing (ERA A*), Medical Care Research and Review and International Journal of Nursing Studies (ERA A*). 

Overall, more than half of Rebecca's research outputs in organizational behavior are ranked A or A* (Australian Business Deans Council, UK ABS).

Rebecca has successfully supervised a number of doctoral students to completion. Many of her students have published in top-tiered journals, indicating the effectiveness of her supervisory approach. She is keen to work with potential higher degree research students, particularly motivated students in the area of resilence and wellbeing at work, teamwork, leadership and healthcare management.

Reflecting the quality of the publications that Rebecca has produced, her academic manuscripts on organisational behaviour and health services management have been recognised internationally, through high-level awards. For example, in 2014, she won the British Academy of Management Best Paper in Strategic Management and, in 2012, the Best Paper Award in Organisational Psychology.

Rebecca is a full professional member of the European Association of Work and Organisational Psychology and the US Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Rebecca works with a number of national and international industry collaborators.

In addition to her academic experience, Dr Mitchell's worked in the Australian and Irish public sector, as a senior policy advisor. She has worked as State representative on several Council of Australian Government (COAG) working parties and has developed health, community and social services policy at a state and national level. She also worked as State representative on the Council of Australian Government’s Working Group on Health Reform. This provides sound evidence of her ability to understanding issues of significant national importance, particularly in healthcare, and the capacity to undertake research that spans bridges academic research with policy and practice.

Keywords

Organisational Behavior

Resilience

Leadership

Teams and Teamwork

Team Diversity – Gender, Cross-cultural, Multidisciplinary

Healthcare Management

Health Services Research

Social Identity Theory