Rate My Professor Stefan Volk

Professor Stefan Volk is a Professor of Management in the University of Sydney Business School. He holds the position of Head of Discipline in the Discipline of International Business and serves as Co-Director of the Body, Heart and Mind in Business Research Group. Additionally, he is Past Chair of the Organizational Neuroscience Interest Group at the Academy of Management. Volk obtained his PhD (Dr.oec.) from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and his MSc (Diplom-Kaufmann) from Humboldt University Berlin in Germany. His academic career is centered at the University of Sydney Business School, where he contributes to research, teaching, and leadership in management disciplines.

Volk's research specializes in enhancing individual and team performance by examining physiological processes and the interplay between the human body and mind in organizational contexts. He integrates insights from neuroscience, biology, medicine, and evolutionary theory to model mental, emotional, and physical performance rhythms, advocating for work structures aligned with these natural cycles. Key topics include circadian rhythms and flexible work arrangements, the effects of speaking foreign languages at work, allocation of jobs based on intelligence, and gender variability in traits like time preferences, risk, and cooperation. His publications appear in prestigious journals such as Academy of Management Review, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Psychological Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Organizational Research Methods. Notable works include 'A Circadian Theory of Paradoxical Leadership' (Academy of Management Review), 'Converging evidence for greater male variability in time, risk, and social preferences' (PNAS, 2021), 'Circadian leadership: A review and integration of chronobiology and leadership' (Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2022), and 'Greater Male Variability in Cooperation: Meta-Analytic Evidence for an Evolutionary Perspective' (Psychological Science, 2020). With an h-index of 14 and over 1,100 citations, his scholarship influences management and organizational behavior fields. Volk's findings have garnered media attention in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, SBS World News, ABC RN Breakfast, and others, including podcasts on productivity and body clocks.