Dr Benjamin Hopkins

Dr Benjamin Hopkins

Department of Management
Senior Lecturer

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 414 8396
Email
b.hopkins@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Business
University House
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Benjamin Hopkins is a senior lecturer in the Birmingham Business School with expertise in work and employment issues.  His recent research has investigated temporary and migrant work in food manufacturing, young people and voluntary work, wage inequality, and work in the public sector.  His current research investigates migrant work in the European Union and United States, the impacts of Brexit on food manufacturing, and work in the police and prison services.

Qualifications

  • PhD Industrial Relations, University of Warwick
  • MA Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, University of Warwick
  • BA Economics and Management, University of Oxford

  • PGCTHE Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Biography

Dr Benjamin Hopkins is a member of the Organisation, Work and Employment group in the Department of Management, Birmingham Business School. Having read Economics and Management at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford, he worked at Cadbury-Schweppes and BBC Television News before completing an MA in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at the University of Warwick. His PhD was also awarded by the University of Warwick, with some research being conducted while at the University of California. Following this he worked at Aberystwyth University, then moved to the University of Leicester in 2015 where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017. He joined the University of Birmingham in 2019.

Dr Hopkins’ research interests are centered on experiences of the workplace, and in particular the impacts of the intersection of migration and non-standard forms of work. He has also researched transitions into work by young people, voluntary work, wage inequality, and working conditions and pay bargaining in the public sector as part of the BARSOP project.

Dr Hopkins’ research has been funded by the ESRC, ASSEC, UnionLearn, Critical Management Studies, Aberystwyth University, the University of Leicester, and the European Commission. He has been consulted or appeared on television programmes for BBC One, S4C and Channel 4, and has also written for The Conversation. His research has been reported in over 350 media outlets, including The Telegraph, The Times, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Independent, The Western Mail, International Business Times, People Management, Russia Today, The Daily Star, and The Watford Observer.

Teaching

Dr Hopkins is currently module co-ordinator for:

  • International Human Resource Management for MSc International Business
  • International Human Resource Management for MSc Human Resource Management

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Hopkins has supervised two doctoral students to completion. He is interested in supervising PhDs investigating:

  • Non-standard work, including temporary and agency work
  • Migration
  • Work in food manufacturing and agriculture
  • Voluntary work
  • Young workers
  • Work in the police and prison services

Research

Research interests

  • Migration
  • Non-standard work
  • Food manufacturing
  • Wage inequality
  • Work in the public sector

Current projects

  • The impacts of Brexit on work and employment in food manufacturing
  • Migrant work in the western United States
  • Burnout in police officers

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hopkins, B, Dowell, D & Flitton, J 2023, 'Emotional labour and burnout among police officers', Policing. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-12-2022-0154

Wheatley, D, Broome, M, Dobbins, T, Hopkins, B & Powell, O 2023, 'Navigating Choppy Water: Flexibility Ripple Effects in the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Remote and Hybrid Working', Work, Employment and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170231195230

Olson, K & Hopkins, B 2021, 'Navigating self-managed conflict resolution: a case study', Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 2021, pp. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X211025082

Hopkins, B & Dowell, D 2021, 'Recruitment and retention in not-for-profit organisations: tailored strategies for younger and older volunteers', Employee Relations. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-10-2020-0450

Dawson, C, Veliziotis, M & Hopkins, B 2018, 'Understanding the perception of the ‘migrant work ethic’', Work, Employment & Society, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 811-830. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017017706306

Hopkins, B 2017, 'Analysing the ‘migrant work ethic’ – comparing managers’ perceptions of local workers and Central and Eastern European migrants in the United Kingdom', European Urban and Regional Studies, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 442-452. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776416678653

Hopkins, B 2017, 'Occupational health and safety of temporary and agency workers', Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 609-628. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X15581424

Dawson, C, Veliziotis, M & Hopkins, B 2017, 'Temporary employment, job satisfaction and subjective well-being', Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 69-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X14559781

Hopkins, B, Dawson, C & Veliziotis, M 2016, 'Absence Management of Migrant Agency Workers in the Food Manufacturing Sector', International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 1082-1100. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2015.1053961

Hopkins, B & Dawson, C 2016, 'Migrant workers and involuntary non-permanent jobs: agencies as new IR actors?', Industrial Relations Journal, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 163-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.12134

Hopkins, B 2012, 'Explaining Variations in Absence Rates; Temporary and Agency Workers in the Food Manufacturing Sector', Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 24, no. 2.

Hopkins, B 2012, 'Inclusion of a Diverse Workforce in the UK: The Case of the EU Expansion', Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, vol. 31, no. 4.

Hopkins, B 2011, 'Informal Hierarchies among Workers in Low-Skill Food Manufacturing Jobs', Industrial Relations Journal, vol. 42, no. 5.

Chapter

Hopkins, B & Simms, M 2020, The changing face of UK public sector policy. in M Keune, M Mailand & NER Martin (eds), Working Under Pressure: Employment, Job Quality and Labour Relations in Europe’s Public Sector Since the Crisis.. pp. 327-358. <https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/Chapter%209_9.pdf>

View all publications in research portal