Role
Dr David Dahill is a Research Fellow at the Centre of People, Work, and Organisational Practice (CPWOP), in the Department of Human Resource Management within Nottingham Business School.
Research areas
David's academic journey has been deeply rooted in exploring the intersections of wellbeing, work, and employment, with a particular focus on the impact of precarious work on individual and societal wellbeing. He is especially interested in how neoliberal policies and practices extend beyond professional life, influencing personal and social well-being. As a qualitative researcher, David places high value on lived experiences as a rich source of knowledge, favouring subjective understanding and the sharing of narratives to uncover hidden meanings and probe social phenomena. Coming from a working-class background, he has always been driven to explore how power dynamics and social inequalities influence access to stable, secure employment, as well as the exploitation and marginalisation of vulnerable workers. With an appreciation for Marxist and Foucauldian perspectives through theoretical triangulation, David is particularly keen to explore precarious work as a socially constructed phenomenon that impacts the whole of existence, including the body, subjectivity, and social relations.
David is deeply committed to producing work that has a meaningful impact. This includes applying his expertise to complex and critical issues in various sectors, and informing strategies at organisational and policy levels as well as fostering strong international collaborations. He is always keen to connect research to the world beyond academia, and regularly engages with diverse publics, knowledge exchange activities, and various communication outputs, including networking events, seminars, workshops, and written publications. As an academic highly experienced in evidence reviews (notably REA and rapid reviews, scoping studies, systematic literature reviews, and qualitative research and data analysis), leading collaborative projects and developing new funding processes are central to his efforts to establish sustainable improvements in working conditions, equity, and justice. David is always open to new colloborations for impactful research, the sharing of ideas and fostering positive relationships and supportive communities to address challenges at both micro and macro levels.
Currently advancing the wellbeing and work strand for CPWOP, from 2020 to 2025, he co-led the Work Futures Research Group in the Department of Sociology, and now oversees the collaborative workspace between CPWOP, the Work Futures Observatory, and GMB Union. This initiative focuses on developing projects to support workers and their unions in the private hire sector. In addition to his research, David has delivered lectures and seminars on the ‘thinking sociologically’ and ‘sociology of work and career’ modules of the BA Sociology programme, and also provided sessions and internal reviews as part of the DBA programme in NBS.
External activity
David is a member of the British Academy ECR Network, and the Working Class Academic Network. He is also part of the international research and reading group 'precarious work, precarious lives' with academics across South America and Europe (jointly hosted by Cardiff University, Wales, UK, and the University of São Paulo in Brazil).