Špela Trefalt

Assistant Professor
F: 617-521-3880
trefalt@simmons.edu

D.B.A., Harvard Business School; M.B.A., University of Kansas; B.A., Law, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia


Specialization

Organizational behavior, Work-life balance, Work relationships

Bio

Špela Trefalt earned her D.B.A. degree in Management from the Harvard Business School, her M.B.A. from University of Kansas, and her B.A. in Law from University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. In her research, Trefalt focuses on the issues of managing competing demands of work and life outside of work. She is particularly interested in the role of relationships at work in this process. Prior to her academic career, Trefalt spent six years as a human resources management and consultant, and eight years working in the media in Slovenia.

Current Course(s)

Leading Organizational Change

Publications

  • Trefalt, S., & Perlow, L. 2005. Learning From Women Who Make It Work: A Call For Dynamic Flexibility. In K. D. Elsbach (Ed.), Qualitative Organizational Research: Best Papers from the Davis Conference on Qualitative Research: 227-251. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
  • Trefalt, S. 2005. Book Review of Andrew Ross's No-Collar: The Humane Workplace and Its Hidden Costs, Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(2): 312-314.

Research

Trefalt’s research interests revolve around the challenges of meeting work and non-work demands. In her current research, she focuses on boundary work, the process through which professionals manage boundaries between their professional and personal lives. She focuses on the role of interpersonal relationships at work in this process. In a qualitative, inductive study of 70 attorneys at a large U.S. law firm, she uncovered boundary work as a fundamentally relational process. She found that when professionals face incompatible work and non-work demands, they are not only interested in resolving their work-nonwork conflict, but in preserving positive work relationships, as well. Relationships represent the immediate context within which professionals conduct their boundary work; they facilitate boundary work as a source of social support, and constrain professionals’ options, as a source of relational expectations. Trefalt identified four approaches to boundary work, defined by the level of agency professionals exert at work (i.e., opposing vs. accepting work demands) but also in the level of voice they use in the process (i.e., speaking up vs. remaining silent). Each type of boundary work unfolds differently depending on the nature of the relationship within which it takes place, and offers a unique set of opportunities and challenges for setting the desired boundaries and for preserving relationships. With this research, Trefalt contributes to work-nonwork research by focusing on the relational challenges that individuals face in meeting the competing demands of work and non-work domains. She also underscores that individuals can proactively influence their own ability to achieve desired results by co-creating their work relationships.  

Awards & Accolades

  • 2007 - Harvard Business School Wyss Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research Finalist
  • 2007 - Outstanding Reviewer for OB Division, Academy of Management
  • 2002-2007 - Graduate Fellowship, Harvard Business School
  • 1993 - Outstanding Academic Achievement Award,  Law School, University of Ljubljana
  • 1987-1996 - Zois Fellow, recognizing exceptional intellectual potential, The Republic of Slovenia

Work in Progress

  • “A Relational Perspective on Boundary Work: The Process of Managing Work-Nonwork Boundaries.” In this paper I develop grounded theory of boundary work based on 70 interviews with attorneys at a large US law firm.  
  • “Toward a Relational Theory of Boundary Work.” In this conceptual paper I develop a model of boundary work, the process of managing boundaries between work and life outside of work, as it unfolds within dyadic relationships.
  • “The Role of Gender in Negotiating Boundaries Within Relationships at Work.” In this empirical paper I explore sex differences and gendered practices in boundary work, the process of managing boundaries between work and life outside of work.

Professional Memberships

  • Member of the Academy of Management  
  • Member of the American Sociological Association
  • Ad hoc reviewer for Administrative Science Quarterly
  • Ad hoc book reviewer for Administrative Science Quarterly
  • Reviewer for the Academy of Management OMT, OB, GDO Divisions

                   

Speaking Engagements

Selected Presentations:

  • Aug 2008, Between You and Me: A Relational Perspective on Managing Work-Nonwork Boundaries. American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA
  • Aug 2008, Between You and Me: A Relational Perspective on Managing Work-Nonwork Boundaries. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA
  • Aug 2007, A Relational Perspective on Boundary Work: How Law Firm Associates Negotiate Work-Life Boundaries. Academy Of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
  • July 2007, A Relational Perspective on Boundary Work: How Law Firm Associates Negotiate Work-Life Boundaries. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, IL
  • June 2006, A Conceptual Model of Work-Life Balancing Process: Example of Lawyers in Corporate Law Firms. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms, IESE, Barcelona, Spain
  • May 2006, Working 9 to 5, What a Way to Make Living!: How Lawyers Negotiate Boundaries Around Work. Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference, London Business School, London, UK
  • Oct 2004, Learning From Women Who Make it Work. Working Mother 100 Best Companies WorkLife Congress 2004, New York, NY
  • Feb 2004, What makes it work? (with Leslie Perlow). Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New York City, NY

 

Last Updated: June 17, 2008 09:47 AM | Content Editor: SOM