Dr Anna Paolillo
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Management
- ΢ÃÜȦ Business School
- ΢ÃÜȦ Hill
Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I am a senior lecturer in the Department of Management and Course Director of the MSc in Business and Occupational Psychology. I have a PhD in "Organisational Psychology: Differentiation and Integration processes" from University of Verona (Italy). During my doctorate I received two international mobility grants for the project entitled "Improving safety at work: the role of climates" (awarded fund: €14,000) which allowed me to complete half of my PhD at University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL, Portugal) in co-supervision of thesis and to be awarded also PhD in "Management, HR and Organisational Behaviour" from the above-mentioned University.
My main research topics are on diversity, wellbeing and safety at work. Specifically, I have been examining the role of different facet specific climates (Diversity Climate, Climate for Inclusion, Safety Climate and Communication Climate) on safety performance within several firms in the metal and mechanical sector. Those projects successfully led to a decrease in accidents, injuries and an improved company safety culture.
I have also been conducting extensive research in positive psychology, with relationship to the psychological capital components (i.e. resilience, optimism, self-efficacy) and their application to education, career counselling and organisational settings. My focus has been on developing evidence-based tools to support educators, career professionals and psychologists in assessing and enhancing students' skills and achievement. My efforts led to publications with Hogrefe and Erickson eds., and in peer-reviewed journals.
Since 2008, I have been a visiting lecturer at several Italian universities and skills training centres, leading on modules such as Organisational Behaviour, Career Counselling and Psychometrics. My teaching has been consistently grounded in my 15-year experience as a work psychologist and career counsellor. My professional background has enabled me to help individuals at different stages of their career, including students, employed/unemployed people, vulnerable groups, professionals and executives in various sectors.
Qualifications
- BSc in Psychology
- MSc in Psychology
- PGDip in Career Counselling
- PhD in Organizational Psychology: Differentiation and Integration Processes
- PhD in Management, Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow - British Psychological Society (BPS) and Member of the Division of Occupational Psychology (DOP)
- Occupational Psychologist - Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Domains
Throughout my experience with different audiences (e.g. undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD, professionals, low and high educational levels), I have developed sounded and robust teaching strategies, grounded in pedagogic research and tailored to the students' needs. My inclusive approach has been recognised as exemplary through internal and external feedback; specifically, my innovative practices have been highly commended through the achievement of the Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, and recognised by the external examiners and during accreditation visits.
My sustained efforts in developing an inclusive curriculum have been acknowledged through the awards and recognitions obtained in the last three year, especially in terms of funded research to address the PG achievement gap for BAME students and the awards as lecturer of the year and runner ups for best personal tutor.
A substantial part of my published research is also focused on providing professionals in the educational sector (e.g. teachers, educators and career counsellors) with evidence-based tools and advice to enhance students' skills.
KU awards, recognitions and teaching research grants
- Principal investigator for the project entitled "Addressing the postgraduate attainment gap for BAME students: a research intervention on predictors of academic achievement and peer tutoring", within the Student Academic Development Research Associates Scheme (SADRAS), ΢ÃÜȦ (2022). Awarded maximum budget for 100 hours of student research assistance.
- Winner, Lecturer of the Year Award for Best Use of Technology, KBS (2021).
- Runner up, Lecturer of the Year Award as Best Personal Tutor, KBS (2020).
Visiting roles and external appointments
- External examiner for Leeds Beckett University BA (Hons) Social Psychology – BASOP and BA (Hons) Sociology and Psychological Studies – BASPS (since 2022).
- External examiner for Birkbeck MSc Organisational Psychology (since 2022).
- Member of the ABP Accredited Programme Leads (since 2021), piloted the first round of "Buz Psych Cup".
- Member of the Stakeholder Committee, Department of Educational Processes, University of Catania, Italy (since A.Y. 2019/20). My expertise and feedback has been fundamental for their re-accreditation with the ANVUR (Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research Systems).
- Visiting lecturer at University of Catania Italy; Invited seminars on Quantitative research in Career Counselling within the Undergraduate Degree in Psychology (since 2020).
- Honorary fellow in Work and Organizational Psychology, Department of Educational Processes, University of Catania, Italy (since 2011), acting as a dissertation supervisor and member of the examination and assessment panel (including marking) until 2016.
- Honorary fellow in Psychometrics, Department of Philosophy, Education and Psychology Department, University of Verona, Italy (since 2012), acting as a dissertation supervisor and member of the examination and assessment panel (including marking and delivering research workshops on psychometrics) until 2015.
Qualifications
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Certified Management and Business Educator
Course director
Courses taught
My research expertise is in the area of psychological assessment in organisational contexts, from workplace to educational and students' career development. Those research interests are linked to both my teaching core areas and my professional practice and experience of more than 15 years as a career counsellor and training consultant for low and higher education students and professionals in the UK and abroad.
I have long-standing experience in the development of robust and theoretically sounded tools to assess employees perceptions in the workplace (i.e. organisational climates related to diversity, inclusion and safety) and individual differences that can impact students' achievement and career choices (e.g. risk intelligence and psychological capital).
I successfully published the outcomes of the above research in peer-reviewed journals, ranked Q1 and Q2 on Scimago, including Journal of Safety Research (ABS 2 stars) and Personality and Individual Differences (ABS 3 stars). My work has also been published by sector-leading editors in the area of educational and psychological testing, such as Hogrefe and Erickson Eds.
Since 2020, I have been an editorial board member of Frontiers in Psychology (IF: 2.067; SJR: 0.914) and Life Span and Disability (IF: 1.000; SJR: 0.329) journals and I am a regular reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals.
I have recently received a grant as principal investigator within the BA Leverhulme Small Grant Funding Scheme for a project entitled "Rethinking employee safety and customer experience in the post-pandemic era: a pilot study in the hospitality sector" (Funding awarded: £9,947.76).
I am an active member of two KU Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Research Teams, having submitted an internal bid as part of the Research for Better Health, Health Care and Social Care stream and an internal bid as part of the Research on AI, Digital Society, Security, Risk and Resilience stream. Currently awaiting outcome.
Qualifications
- RISE Leadership Research Academy
- Registered and active PhD/PGR supervisor
Specialisms
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Health and Safety
- Organisational climate
- Psychological capital
- Wellbeing at work
Scholarly affiliations
- Future of Work and New Ways of Working - Research Hub
- Member of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology - EAWOP
- Member of the European Association of Occupational Health Psychology - EAOHP
- Member of the editorial board of 'Frontiers in Psychology' journal
- Member of the editorial board of 'Life Span and Disability' journal
Since 2008 I have been working as a business psychologist consultant, researcher and trainer for small, medium and large enterprises in Europe and Kuwait. Main clients include a wide range of professionals at various levels and areas of expertise, such as educators in the penitentiary sector, social workers, manufacturing and infrastructure workers, healthcare assistants, HR and finance mid-level executives.
I have been using my long international experience as a practitioner to help diverse people before, during and in between employments, and published articles in peer-reviewed journals on the assessments and interventions I delivered.
In the last ten years, I have been working as a consultant on several research projects regarding workplace health and wellbeing at national and international companies. Main topics regarded safety climate and safety performance in their relationships with diversity management, inclusion and communication at work. Clients included: multiple metal and mechanical Italian firms, in collaboration with the Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL, Italy) and a Portuguese infrastructure company with more than 15 international branches.
I also served as funded researcher and consultant in career and vocational guidance, study skills and motivation at many schools and university projects (multiple lower secondary schools belonging to the Borough of Catania, Italy, and referring to the Centre for Research and Investigation About Disabilities), in collaboration with University of Catania and Kore University of Enna.
Since joining ΢ÃÜȦ Business School, I have significantly supported students at every level of seniority and experience to analyse, diagnostic and intervene on organisational and management matters.
Qualifications and expertise
- Certificate in Practical People Assessment – Association for Business Psychology
- Career counselling and coaching
- BeTalent Strength - accredited
- BeTalent Teams & Values - accredited
- BeTalent 360 - Accredited
- Psychometrics and psychological testing
Professional and scholarly affiliations
- Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) and Associate Fellow (AFBPsS) - British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Occupational Psychologist - Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- Certified Business Psychologist - Association for Business Psychology (ABP)
- Member of the Italian Association of Psychology (AIP) – Section of Organisational Psychology
- Member of the Italian Association for Career guidance and Counselling (SIO)
University responsibilities
- Course Director MSc Occupational and Business Psychology, full-time occurrence
Publications
Can peer tutoring improve academic performance in postgraduate education?
Paolillo, Anna and Giatras, Niki, 2024, Research Features (153), pp 56-59
Validation and measurement invariance of the Compound PsyCap Scale (CPC-12) : a short universal measure of psychological capital
Platania, Silvia and Paolillo, Anna, 2022, Anales de PsicologÃa = Annals of Psychology (38), 1, pp 63-75
The relationship between inclusion climate and voice behaviors beyond social exchange obligation : the role of psychological needs satisfaction
Paolillo, Anna, Sinval, Jorge, Silva, SÃlvia A. and Scuderi, Vittorio E., 2021, Sustainability (13), 18, pp 10252
The Italian validation of OSCI : the Organizational and Safety Climate Inventory
Platania, S., Paolillo, Anna and Silva, S., 2021, Safety (7), 1, pp e22
Exploring patterns of multiple climates and their effects on safety performance at the department level
Paolillo, Anna, Silva, Silvia, Carvalho, Helena and Pasini, Margherita, 2020, Journal of Safety Research (72), pp 47-60
The Subjective Risk Intelligence scale. The development of a new scale to measure a new construct
Craparo, Giuseppe, Magnano, Paola, Paolillo, Anna and Costantino, Valentina, 2018, Current Psychology (37), 4, pp 966-981
Courage as a potential mediator between personality and coping
Magnano, Paola, Paolillo, Anna, Platania, Silvia and Santisi, Giuseppe, 2017, Personality and Individual Differences (111), pp 13-18
Psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation of the Mor Barak et al. diversity climate scale
Paolillo, Anna, Pasini, Margherita, Silva, Silvia A. and Magnano, Paola, 2017, (51), 2, pp 873-890
Resilience and emotional intelligence: which role in achievement motivation?
Magnano, Paola, Craparo, Giuseppe and Paolillo, Anna, 2016, International Journal of Psychological Research (9), 1, pp 9-20
Promoting safety participation through diversity and inclusion climates
Paolillo, Anna, Silva, Silvia A. and Pasini, Margherita, 2016, International Journal of Workplace Health Management (9), 3, pp 308-327
Relationships between personality and burn-out : an empirical study with helping professions' workers
Magnano, Paola, Paolillo, Anna and Barrano, Carmine, 2015, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research (1), pp 10-19
Organizational justice, optimism and commitment to change
Paolillo, Anna, Platania, Silvia, Magnano, Paola and Ramaci, Tiziana, 2015, Procedia : Social and Behavioral Sciences (191), pp 1697-1701
Dispositional optimism as a correlate of decision-making styles in adolescence
Magnano, Paola, Paolillo, Anna and Giacominelli, Barbara, 2015, Sage Open (5), 2
Autostima e autoefficacia, identita di genere e soddisfazione lavorativa. Implicazioni per la scelta di carriera, in Essere donna e fare ricerca in Italia = [Self-esteem and self-efficacy, gender identity and job satisfaction. Implications for career choice]
Magnano, Paola, Paolillo, Anna and Santisi, Giuseppe, 2015, Scienze e Ricerche (5), pp 61-67
Sviluppo del territorio e politiche del turismo: la valutazione dell'impatto turistico dal punto di vista dei residenti = [Land development and tourism policies: assessment of the tourism impact from the residents' point of view]
Santisi, Giuseppe, Platania, Silvia and Paolillo, Anna, 2013, Turismo e Psicologia (6), 1, pp 106-116
Orientamento e disabilità : un’analisi delle dimensioni psicologiche e psicosociali in un gruppo di studenti universitari = [Orientation and disability: an analysis of the psychological and psychosocial dimensions in a group of university students]
Magnano, Paola and Paolillo, Anna, 2011, Life Span and Disability (14), 1, pp 89-108
Migrant inclusion and wider workforce well-being : understanding the MNE challenges and solutions through the diversity climates lens
Butler, Christina, Paolillo, Anna and Scuderi, Vittorio Edoardo (2023). In: Mockaitis, Audra I., (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business. Cham: Springer, pp 325-352
Psicologia positiva ed organizzazioni in azione. Il contributo del diversity management = [Positive psychology and organizations in action. The contribution of diversity management]
Magnano, Paola, Santisi, Giuseppe, Ramaci, Tiziana and Paolillo, Anna (2015). In: Nota, Laura, (eds.) and Soresi, Salvatore, (eds.), La psicologia positiva per l'orientamento e il lavoro. Strumenti e contributi di ricerca. Firenze, Italy: Hogrefe, pp 72-97
Valori
Di Nuovo, Santo, Magnano, Paola and Paolillo, Anna (2013). In: Di Nuovo, Santo, (eds.) and Magnano, Paola, (eds.), Competenze trasversali e scelte formative : Strumenti per valutare meta cognizione, motivazione, interessi, abilita sociali nella continuita tra livelli scolastici. Trento, Italy: Erikson, pp 29-39
Valori e orientamento: un confronto generazionale = [Values ​​and orientation: a generational comparison]
Magnano, Paola and Paolillo, Anna (2008). In: Di Nuovo, Santo, (ed.), Riscoprire i valori. Un approccio psicosociale in Sicilia. Troina, Italy: Citta' Aperta, pp 181-195
Supporting the long-term effect of diversity practices and inclusion through trust and empowerment
Scuderi, Vittorio Edoardo, Paolillo, Anna and Wolfram, Hans-Joachim(2024). In: 33rd International Congress of Psychology, 21-26 Jul 2024 :Prague, Czech Republic
Development and validation of a scale for measuring working excessively (WES)
Platania, Silvia, Morando, Martina, Paolillo, Anna and Scuderi, Vittorio Edoardo(2024). In: 16th EAOHP Conference, 4-7 June 2024 :Granada, Spain
Addressing the postgraduate attainment gap : a research intervention on predictors of academic achievement and peer tutoring
Paolillo, Anna, Giatras, Niki, Kremis, Adam and Mangalore Harish, Shravya(2023). In: The European Conference on Education (ECE2023), 13-17 Jul 2023 :London, U.K.
Safety climate and service access during COVID-19 : a preliminary study in healthcare sector
Scuderi, Vittorio, Paolillo, Anna and Memon, Ally R.(2023). In: 21st Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) : The future is now : the changing world of work, 24-27 May 2023 :Katowice, Poland
The effect of dispositional resilience on the relationship between professional quality of life and psychological distress factors of healthcare workers
Morando, Martina, Gruttadauria, Stefania, Platania, Silvia, Scuderi, Vittorio and Paolillo, Anna(2023). In: 21st Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) : The future is now : the changing world of work, 24-27 May 2023 :Katowice, Poland
The influence of migrants on MNC workforce well-being
Butler, Christina, Paolillo, Anna and Scuderi, Vittorio(2022). In: 48th European International Business Academy (EIBA) Annual Conference: Walking the talk? Transitioning towards a sustainable world, 08–10 Dec 2022 :Oslo, Norway
A systematic literature review on how diversity practices affect job satisfaction, job performance, exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect of employees : the mediation effects of psychological empowerment and trust climate, and the moderation effect of climate for inclusion.
Scuderi, Vittorio Edoardo, Paolillo, Anna and Wolfram, Hans-Joachim(2022). In: 15th Equality Diversity Inclusion Conference (EDI) : Disruption, 22 – 24 Jul 2022 :Cape Town, South Africa
Perceptions of safety climate amongst employees and service users in healthcare in midst of a pandemic : a systematic review of literature
Memon, Ally R and Paolillo, Anna(2022). In: 15th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference (EAOHP) : Supporting Knowledge Comparison to Promote Good Practice in Occupational Health Psychology, 06 - 08 Jul 2022 :Bordeaux, France
Users-perceived safety climate and safety behaviors in the healthcare sector and its implications for healthcare professionals and organisations : a preliminary study during Covid-19
Paolillo, Anna, Memon, Ally R and Scuderi, Vittorio(2022). In: 15th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference (EAOHP) : Supporting Knowledge Comparison to Promote Good Practice in Occupational Health Psychology, 06 - 08 Jul 2022 :Bordeaux, France
Psychological capital and work engagement: the mediating role of job crafting
Paolillo, Anna, Platania, Silvia and Silva, Silvia A.(2019). In: 19th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) : Working for the greater good, 29 May - 01 Jun 2019 :Turin, Italy
Trust and safety participation: co-workers’ safety climate matters
Paolillo, Anna and Silva, Silvia A.(2019). In: 19th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) : Working for the greater good, 29 May - 01 Jun 2019 :Turin, Italy
Exploring patterns of multiple climates and their effects on safety performance at the department level
Paolillo, Anna, Silva, Silvia, Carvalho, Helena and Pasini, Margherita(2017). In: 9th International Conference on the prevention of accidents at work (WOS 2017), 3-6 Oct 2917 :Prague, Czech Republic
The role of organizational fairness and inclusion in workers’ well-being and behavior: a preliminary study
Silva, Silvia and Paolillo, Anna(2017). In: 10th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, 28-30 Jun 2017 :London, U.K.
How climates for diversity and inclusion can affect safety at work : a preliminary study
Paolillo, Anna, Silva, Silvia A. and Pasini, Margherita(2014). In: 7th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference, 08–10 June 2014 :Munich, Germany
The effect of trust and openness on safety performance : the role of group safety climate
Paolillo, Anna, Silva, Silvia and Pasini, Margherita(2014). In: 11th European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology Conference (EAOHP) : Looking at the past - planning for the future : Capitalizing on OHP multidisciplinarity, 14-16 Apr 2014 :London, U.K.
Work-related stress mediates the relationship between safety climate and safety performance
Brondino, Margherita, Paolillo, Anna, Pasini, Margherita, Lazzarini, Gianluigi and Romeo, Luciano(2013). In: 16th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) : Imagine the future world: How do we want to work tomorrow?, 22-25 May 2013 :Münster, Germany