Since 2005, Professor Schieman has collected data from 30,000 workers in the United States and Canada. He uses diverse methodologies–including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and free-text designs–to understand the centrality of work in everyday life and its effects on the self, status, and well-being. His research has been supported by $5.1 million in grant awards from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the National Institute on Aging, the University of Toronto COVID-19 Action Initiative, and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation. He has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals including American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Work & Occupations, Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Psychology Quarterly, Social Problems, Work & Stress, and others.

Studying the Quality of Work and Economic Life

Quality of Employment Survey-Updated (QES-UP)

In February and March of 2022, Professor Schieman partnered with Angus Reid Global to survey a nationally representative sample of 2,015 American workers in the United States. One objective is to provide a 50-year history from 1970 to the present of trends in the quality of worklife and how it shapes the sense of self and identity, status, and well-being.

American Quality of Work & Economic Life Study (A-QWELS)

This ongoing study has collected data on more than 6,500 American workers in 2020 and 2021. One objective is to investigate how Americans perceive work and economic conditions. Professor Schieman traces how these factors shape perceptions of inequality, satisfaction, and health, and how the role of work in our lives has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canadian Quality of Work & Economic Life Study (C-QWELS)

This ongoing study has collected data on more than 16,000 Canadian workers in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. One objective is to investigate how Canadians perceive work and economic conditions, and how these factors are linked to status, satisfaction, and health. With 14 waves of data collection that started in September 2019 and repeated follow-ups throughout the pandemic, the C-QWELS provides an in-depth history into the experiences of Canadians during the societal changes due to COVID-19.

Work, Stress and Health Study (WSH)

In 2005, Professor Schieman collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1,800 working American adults and followed up two years later on the eve of the Great Recession. One objective is to document the effects of work-related stress, with an emphasis on interpersonal conflict in the workplace and anger.

The Canadian Work Stress and Health Study (CAN-WSH)

In 2011, Professor Schieman fielded a national survey of 6,000 working Canadians and followed up every two years until 2019. One objective is to track changes in demands and resources that workers experience in their roles, with an emphasis on the work-family interface, after-hours contact, multitasking, and work-life culture.