Jillian and I share a love for cats, coffee, tchotchkes, and research—not necessarily in that order. There’s something special about working on research with a close friend. I feel so much more at ease tossing around early ideas, even when they’re half-baked or sound a little out there. The comfort of collaboration makes the creative process feel less intimidating and a lot more fun.
What makes our partnership even more interesting is how different our academic backgrounds are. I come from the world of management, while Jillian’s expertise lies in social work. Both are rooted in the social sciences and deal with people in organizational settings, but our lenses are quite distinct. In management, I focus on optimizing organizational outcomes. Jillian, on the other hand, is deeply invested in individual mental health and well-being. Despite these differences, our fields complement each other beautifully. Both emphasize collaboration, communication, and navigating human systems—whether at the level of organizations or individuals.
Our research training reflects this complementarity. Jillian brings depth and nuance through qualitative methods like thematic coding and grounded theory. I contribute with survey research and quantitative analysis. Together, we’re able to integrate both approaches for a richer, more comprehensive understanding of the phenomena we study.
Our work has spanned a versatile range of topics—from caregiving to the post-pandemic experiences of grocery store employees. We’ve presented at conferences, participated in roundtables, and published together. Currently, we’re developing a unique class exercise based on inter-professional education. The goal is to help students from our respective disciplines collaborate on complex, real-world problems—just like we do.
And the best part?
It is always Research Girl Season.
Some of our work:
Caregiving research
Pandey, A., Graves, J. Marsack-Topolewski, C. (2025). Connections Amid Caregiving Stress; Informal Caregiver Employee Stress, Work Outcomes and the Role of Relational Coordination. Journal of Managerial Issues. XXXVI(4), 273-291.
Pandey, A. & Graves, J. (2022). Relational Coordination as a Resource for Caregivers. Relational Coordination Collective Roundtable, Boston, Massachusetts, November.
Pandey, A., Graves, J. M., & Endres, M. L. (2022). Caregiver employee stress outcomes and moderators. Midwest Academy of Management, Detroit, Michigan, October.
Pandey, A., Graves, J.M. Marsack-Topolewski, C.N. (2023, August) CARING FOR CAREGIVERS: How Caregiving Stress Impacts Work Outcomes for Informal Caregiver Employees and how Flexible Work and Relational Coordination Can Help—Academy of Management Conference, Boston, Massachusetts.
Pandey, A. & Graves, J. (2022, November). Relational Coordination as a Resource for Caregivers. Relational Coordination Collective Roundtable, Boston, Massachusetts.
Pandey, A., Graves, J. M., & Endres, M. L. (2022, October). Caregiver employee stress outcomes and moderators. Midwest Academy of Management, Detroit, Michigan.
Pandey, A. & Graves, J. M. (2021, November). The Role of Relationships: How COVID 19 at the workplace impacted our understanding about factors influencing stress and wellbeing. Relational Coordination Collective Roundtable, Ann Arbor, Mi, Virtual.
Grocery Store Research
Pandey, A., Graves, J, Newell, S. & Avanigadda, E. ( 2024, November)Collaboration and Safety: Grocery Stores and Their Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Relational Coordination Collective Roundtable, Berkely, California
Newell, S., Pandey, A., & Graves, J. (2024 July). Disconnected Narratives: Perceptions of Workplace Safety. Conference on Organizational Discourse, Bristol, United Kingdom.
Newell, S. E., Pandey, A., & Graves, J. (2024 June). The impact of perceptions of workplace safety on workplace outcomes. Strategic Management Society Conference, Washington, District of Columbia.
In the Classroom
Graves, J. M. & Pandey, A. (2022). Using IPE Simulation for Social Work and Business Students in Non-healthcare Settings in the Era of COVID. Nexus Summit, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August.
Graves, J. M. & Pandey, A. (2022, August). Using IPE Simulation for Social Work and Business Students in Non-healthcare Settings in the Era of COVID. Nexus Summit, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
More on the Classroom Exercise
