PROFILE
Dr Caleb Goods
Started at UWA: 2014
Leading researcher examining climate change and the ‘gig’ economy
The best thing about teaching students is their enthusiasm and the new perspectives they bring to my research and teaching.Dr Caleb Goods
Dr Caleb Goods is a prominent researcher and lecturer at UWA, based in the Management and Organisations department at the UWA Business School. He specialises in the future of work, the ‘gig’ economy, and ‘greening’ workplaces.
Dr Goods joined UWA in 2014 as a research fellow before completing a 12-month stint as a postdoctoral researcher in Toronto, Canada. He then returned to the University and took up a position as a lecturer in 2017. Dr Goods is currently researching the ‘gigification’ of work, defined as work organised via platforms or apps such as Uber, Airtasker and Deliveroo. His research examines how people are experiencing these changes and what these changes mean for people’s work and broader lives.
His other research focuses on transitioning the world of work from a high-carbon economy to a low-carbon world. Dr Goods’ research examines the shutdown of ‘old’ polluting industries, the development of new green industries and the adoption of green practices into existing workplaces.
External positions:
- Co-investigator, Adapting Canadian work and workplaces to respond to climate change, York University, Toronto, Canada
- Executive Committee Member, Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand
Awarded a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Canada, 2015
Greening Auto Jobs: a critical analysis of the green job solution, textbook published by Lexington Books, 2014
Chancellor Commendation for Outstanding PhD Thesis, Curtin University, Australia, 2013
The lowdown: Working for an online jobs platform
Platforms, such as Uber, are making it increasingly convenient for consumers to access a range of services via mobile phone applications.
Read moreThe limited choices of the food delivery worker
Some of the most vulnerable workers in the Australian labour market are squeezed between a rock and a hard place.
Read moreStudy shows the trade-offs in gig work
Our emerging findings suggest gig workers often understand the trade-offs between the positive and negative features of their work but see this as a reality of their position within the labour market.
Read moreFunding
2014–2021
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Government
- Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Change.
Co-Investigator
2015
UWA Business School, BHP Billiton Research Award
- Are Consumers Willing to Pay for Minimum Conditions for Workers in the Gig Economy?
Chief Investigator with Dr Brett Smith (UWA) and Dr Tom Barratt (ECU)
Other projects
Dr Goods’ research has implications for a range of public policy areas, but also explores bigger questions around standard of living, the future of work and the sustainability of society. He is currently working on the following projects:
- Are consumers willing to pay for minimum conditions for workers in the gig economy?
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This research project surveys consumers’ attitudes towards food delivery apps to see if they both understand and care about the working conditions of delivery workers and drivers, also known as ‘gig’ workers.
- Climate change, workplaces and organisations
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This project will seeks to understand how management in organisations around Australia view climate change in the workplace.
- Adapting Canadian work and workplaces to respond to climate change
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This multidisciplinary and international research project examines how workplaces and industries are responding to the global challenge of climate change.
- Engineering service work global production networks and employment relations in Australian mining
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This is an employment relations research project that focuses on how mining and engineering firms responded to the resource downturn and what role labour plays in this response. This project has received funding from the Australian Research Council.
Teaching
Related links
Contact Dr Caleb Goods
Dr Goods welcomes emails from prospective PhD students interested in research topics such as the future of work, the ‘gig’ economy and ‘greening’ workplaces.