Leslie B. Hammer, Ph.D., Professor, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Director, Occupational Health Psychology Program

Department of Psychology 317 Cramer Hall Portland State University P.O. Box 751 Portland,OR 97207-0751 phone (503) 725-3971 fax (503) 725-3904 hammerl@pdx.edu Biography Selected Publications Classes Taught Occupational Health Psychology

Current Research: Center for Work-Family, Stress, Safety & Health at PSU funded by a grant from NIOSH. Work, Family & Health Network Oregon Healthy Workforce Study: A NIOSH Center of Excellence Starting in 2013: Veteran Supervisory Support   Dr. Hammer speaking at WorldatWork's 2013 Work-Life Forum in Baltimore, Feb 27-Mar1

Biography

Leslie Hammer is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, Portland State University. Dr. Hammer is the Director of the Occupational Health Psychology graduate training program at Portland State University that is funded through a Training Program Grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. She is also the Director of the Center for Work-Family Stress, Safety & Health, which is part of the Work, Family & Health Network (WFHN).

Dr. Hammer’s research program focuses on the integration of work and family roles, the benefits and challenges associated with juggling those roles, and how health and well-being are all affected. She, along with her colleague, Ellen Kossek, have developed the concept of Family Supportive Supervisory Behaviors – specific behaviors that managers and supervisors exhibit at a workplace to help their employees manage their work and family roles. They have developed a manager training which is currently being empirically field tested and adapted for other uses.

Dr. Hammer's research has also examined ways in which organizations can help reduce work-family stress and improve positive spillover by implementing "family-friendly" programs and policies such as alternative work schedules, leave programs, dependent care programs, and employee assistance programs. Finally, her studies on work and family crossover effects have demonstrated the importance of considering the dyad as the unit of analysis in work-family research.

Below are summaries of Dr. Hammer’s research projects:

CURRENT PROJECTS

Work-Family & Health Network: 2006-2013

The WFHN is a multi-site research cooperative providing scientific evidence about how changes in the work environment – specifically around work and family issues - can improve the health of workers and their families while benefiting organizations. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Network in 2005. For more information on this study, please visit the website for the Center for Work, Family, Stress, Safety & Health.

Oregon Healthy Workforce: 2011-2014

The Oregon Healthy Workforce initiative is a NIOSH Center of Excellence a research collaborative examining workplace interventions that use on team- and technological-based approaches to improve worker safety and health. Click here for more information on this grant.

UPCOMING PROJECT

Veteran Supervisory Support: 2013-2018

Dr. Hammer recently received notice from the Department of Defense that her grant proposal “Development and Evaluation of Veteran-Supportive Supervisor Training (VSST): Improving Reintegration of the Oregon National Guard and Reserves into the Workplace” will be funded starting in 2013. The study is a randomized control trial with pre- and post-training evaluation. The Veteran-Supportive Supervisor Training will focus on increasing support for veterans and their families in the civilian workforce with positive impacts expected both at home and at work.

PAST PROJECT

Sandwiched Generation: 1996-2001

In 2001, Dr. Hammer and her research team recently concluded a national, longitudinal study of dual-earner couples in the sandwiched generation funded by the Alfred P. Sloan foundation. This research examined the various work and family stressors related to such work and well-being indicators as life satisfaction, depression, work-family conflict, positive work-family spillover, absenteeism and turnover intentions.

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Dr. Hammer teaches at both the graduate and undergraduate levels including Work and Family, Occupational Health Psychology, and Organizational Psychology. She also supervises a number of graduate student theses and dissertations.

Dr. Hammer has two children, Joshua, 15 and Benji, 12. She was raised in Maryland and has lived in Oregon for the last two decades. Her husband, Lee, owns and operates a successful pizza restaurant in the Portland area.