Staff profile

Jo joined Durham University in June 2018 from Newcastle University Business School where she held the post of Senior Lecturer of Industrial Relations, Work and Employment for 5 years. Prior to that, Jo worked at Bradford University School of Management for 10 years holding various positions and before that was at Northumbria University. Her career in the field of Industrial Relations began with the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union through her early working years at Lloyds Bank PLC. From there, she went on to achieve a First Class Honours Degree in Human Organisations then conducted a Phd on the dynamics of the employment relationship in the Tyneside Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry.

Jo has researched, taught, designed and led varying programmes and modules relating to industrial relations and the sociology of work. She takes a critical approach to studying the world of work and the reality of working lives. A major focus has been on themes such as social perceptions of the value of jobs, the causes and consequences of low paid work and multiple employment including the correlations between the increase of precarious work and the rise of in-work poverty (IWP).   This latter topic is still the main focus of her research and she has written reports, some with other colleagues, for policy makers, trade unions and employers.  There are several projects that have developed out of this work and Jo has worked with various organisations in the North East focusing on The Good Work Agenda, Flexible Work Policies and Underemployment and barriers to employment for those with protected characteristics.  She is currently leading an academic team and large Advisory Group looking to explore the potential causes for the rise of IWP in the North East.  

This stems from earlier work on The Forgotten Workers project with her colleague, Dr Andrew Smith at Sheffield, which gained much positive support. They presented their findings at various outlets including Portcullis House, the National TUC, various trade union events , various Local Government events and the Durham Miners Gala. She has disseminated her findings at many public events sharing platforms with for example, Yvette Cooper MP and Sir Ken Loach. 

Jo has also used her knowledge and experience proactively in the world of work being a member of the Employee Relations Institute Executive Board joining HR Directors of large multinational organisations, General Secretaries of Trade Unions and Peers of the House of Lords.  She is also a member of ReWAGE, an independent expert advisory group for the recovery and renewal ofwork and employment in the UK.  

She was President of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) from 2016-2019. BUIRA is one of the largest academic associations in the United Kingdom aimed at promoting the study of employment relations across relevant academic disciplines.

Jo was awarded a Fellowship of BUIRA in June 2025.

Mini-Biography

Jo joined Durham University Business School in June 2018 from Newcastle University Business School where she was Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations, Work and Employment. Prior to that Jo worked at Bradford University School of Management and Northumbria University. Her main areas of academic interest are Industrial Relations and the Sociology of Work. She was President of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association (2016-2019) which was founded in 1950 and is one of the largest academic associations in the United Kingdom aimed at promoting the study of employment relations across relevant academic disciplines.  Jo was awarded a Fellowship of BUIRA in 2025.

• Industrial Relations
• Sociology of Work
• In-work poverty
• Precarious work
• Organisations and Society

• 2025: British Universities Industrial Relations Association:
• 2022: Member of Expert Group for ReWAGE: ReWAGE is an independent expert advisory group modelled on SAGE. It has been convened to provide high-quality, evidence-based advice to policy makers to help them better understand how they can most effectively shape the UK’s recovery from the pandemic. 

  This recovery is the responsibility of three UK Government departments: Work & Pensions (DWP); Education (DfE); Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) alongside the HM Treasury and Cabinet Office. 

  Jo is a member of the Expert Group that comprises over 30 senior experts from universities and research organisations from a range of relevant disciplines from across the UK. ReWAGE also has an Advisory Group drawn from business, trade union and civil society organisations.

Chapter in book

• Precarity
  
  Spellman, C., McBride, J., & Smith, A. (2025). Precarity. In A. Smith, P. Dibben, & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Theories and Concepts in Work and Employment Relations: A Concise Guide (pp. 228-235). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035316205.00037
• Work intensification and work extensification
  
  Smith, A., & McBride, J. (2025). Work intensification and work extensification. In A. Smith, P. Dibben, & A. Wilkinson (Eds.), Theories and Concepts in Work and Employment Relations: A Concise Guide (pp. 219-226). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035316205.00036
• Precarious work and employment
  
  McBride, J., & Smith, A. (2024). Precarious work and employment. In A Research Agenda for Work and Employment. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803929972.00017
• Labour process theory
  
  Smith, A., & McBride, J. (2024). Labour process theory. In A Guide to Key Theories for Human Resource Management Research (pp. 133-138). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035308767.ch16
• Accessing ‘Hard to Reach Groups’ and Emotions in the Research Process: ‘Work an Honest Day and Get the Usual Raw Deal’
  
  Smith, A., & McBride, J. (2019). Accessing ‘Hard to Reach Groups’ and Emotions in the Research Process: ‘Work an Honest Day and Get the Usual Raw Deal’. In D. Wheatley (Ed.), Handbook of research methods on the quality of working lives. (pp. 95-108). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788118774.00013

Journal Article

• From worker representation to the representation of work: mobilisation, contestation and struggle over employee contribution during the pandemic in the United Kingdom
  
  McBride, J., & Lucio, M. M. (2025). From worker representation to the representation of work: mobilisation, contestation and struggle over employee contribution during the pandemic in the United Kingdom. Journal of Industrial Relations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856251334189
• Gendering “The Hidden Injuries of Class”: In‐Work Poverty, Precarity, and Working Women Using Food Banks in Britain
  
  Spellman, C., & McBride, J. (2025). Gendering “The Hidden Injuries of Class”: In‐Work Poverty, Precarity, and Working Women Using Food Banks in Britain. Gender, Work & Organization, 32(4), 1421-1431. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.13237
• ‘It was doing my head in’: Low-paid multiple employment and zero hours work
  
  Smith, A., & McBride, J. (2023). ‘It was doing my head in’: Low-paid multiple employment and zero hours work. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(1), 3-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12689
• ‘I feel like I’m in poverty. I don’t do much outside of work other than survive’: In-work poverty and multiple employment in the UK
  
  McBride, J., & Smith, A. (2022). ‘I feel like I’m in poverty. I don’t do much outside of work other than survive’: In-work poverty and multiple employment in the UK. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 43(3), 1440-1466. https://doi.org/10.1177/2f0143831x211016054
• ‘Working to live, not living to work’: Low-paid multiple employment and work-life articulation
  
  Smith, A., & McBride, J. (2020). ‘Working to live, not living to work’: Low-paid multiple employment and work-life articulation. Work, Employment and Society, 35(2), 256-276. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017020942645
• Beyond Work Intensification: the contradictions and ironies of the changing nature of ‘unskilled’ work in a context of austerity and organisational change
  
  McBride, J., & Martinez Lucio, M. (2019). Beyond Work Intensification: the contradictions and ironies of the changing nature of ‘unskilled’ work in a context of austerity and organisational change. Capital and Class, 45(1), 145-164. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816820924413
• ‘You End Up with Nothing’: The Experience of Being a Statistic of ‘In-Work Poverty’ in the UK
  
  McBride, J., Smith, A., & Mbala, M. (2018). ‘You End Up with Nothing’: The Experience of Being a Statistic of ‘In-Work Poverty’ in the UK. Work, Employment and Society, 32(1), 210-218. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017017728614
• Disaggregating and reaggregating work: Workers, management and the struggle over creating coherency and purpose in a context of work degradation
  
  McBride, J., & Martínez Lucio, M. (2016). Disaggregating and reaggregating work: Workers, management and the struggle over creating coherency and purpose in a context of work degradation. Human Resource Management Journal, 26(4), 490-504. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12118
• Green shoots from the grass roots? The National Shop Stewards Network
  
  McBride, J., & Stirling, J. (2014). Green shoots from the grass roots? The National Shop Stewards Network. New Technology, Work and Employment, 29(1), 25-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12024
• ‘Because we were living it’: the hidden work of a strike.
  
  McBride, J., Stirling, J., & Winter, S. (2013). ‘Because we were living it’: the hidden work of a strike. Work, Employment and Society, 27(2), 244-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017012460308
• Trade Union learning strategies and immigrant workers: Policies and practice in a neo-liberal environment
  
  Perrett, R., Martínez Lucio, M., McBride, J., & Craig, S. (2012). Trade Union learning strategies and immigrant workers: Policies and practice in a neo-liberal environment. Urban Studies, 49(3), 649-667. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098011431618
• Dimensions of Collectivism: Occupation, community, and the increasing role of memory and personal dynamics in the debate
  
  McBride, J., & Martínez Lucio, M. (2011). Dimensions of Collectivism: Occupation, community, and the increasing role of memory and personal dynamics in the debate. Work, Employment and Society, 25(4), 794-805. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017011419706
• Can sectionalism be good for solidarity? Some evidence from the maritime construction industry on Tyneside
  
  McBride, J. (2011). Can sectionalism be good for solidarity? Some evidence from the maritime construction industry on Tyneside. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 32(2), 285-306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x10377807
• The limits of high performance work systems in unionised craft-based work settings
  
  McBride, J. (2008). The limits of high performance work systems in unionised craft-based work settings. New Technology, Work and Employment, 23(3), 583-591. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-005x.2008.00214.x
• Mapping worker collectivism: some evidence from River Tyne industries in the North East of England.
  
  McBride, J. (2006). Mapping worker collectivism: some evidence from River Tyne industries in the North East of England. Work, Employment and Society, 20(3), 583-591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017006067002
• Renewal or resilience?
  
  McBride, J. (2004). Renewal or resilience? Capital and Class, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/030981680408200107
• Partnership and process in the maritime construction industry
  
  McBride, J., & Stirling, J. (2002). Partnership and process in the maritime construction industry. Employee Relations, 24(3). https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450210428453