Meet Baylor’s nationally recognized expert on work-life balance

We’ve all been there. It’s 2 p.m. on a Monday, you’ve worked through lunch, and you have zero motivation to push through the day. Or, you’re in the middle of a work project, being the most productive you’ve been in days, and your significant other calls. Or, you’re at home, sitting down to eat dinner with the family when your boss texts about a sudden crisis.

This struggle to achieve a proper work-life balance is Dr. Emily Hunter‘s area of expertise. An assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business since 2009, Hunter teaches courses on negotiation and conflict management — and researches how we can better balance our personal and professional lives.

Most recently, Hunter has studied the impact of the increasingly blurred lines between work and home. Unsurprisingly, she found that “boundary violations” are pretty common — but, interestingly, they’re not always detrimental. On one hand, they may lead to unwelcome consequences like obstruction of goals and work-family conflict. On the other, they may be a welcome break and a big help in meeting certain work or family goals.

Hunter’s research on employee work-family issues, stress, and deviant behavior has led to her being cited as an expert by such outlets as the Washington Post, Fast Company and Adweek. Her scholarly work has appeared in such academic journals as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management and Journal of Organizational Behavior, and she’s also a co-author of Organized Innovation: A Blueprint for Renewing America’s Prosperity, a book that aims to provide a framework that optimizes the way universities, businesses and our government create, develop and commercialize technology breakthroughs.

Sic ’em, Dr. Hunter!