Professor Li Wendong wins prestigious Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research 2025

Professor Li’s award-winning paper, titled “Getting under the skin? Influences of work–family experiences on personality trait adaptation and reciprocal relationships,” was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In this study, Professor Li and the co-author team, including Jiexin Wang, Tammy Allen, Xin Zhang, Kaili Yu, Hong Zhang, Jason L. Huang, Mengqiao Liu, and Andrew Li, explored how work and family experiences shape personality trait changes, particularly during middle and later stages of adulthood.

Notably, the team found that positive work-family experiences were associated with positive personality development among adults and vice versa. The research contributes to both the personality and the work-family literature, serving as a useful example among different areas of psychology to advance personality research.

Reflecting on the award, Professor Li said, “I am both humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award in work-family research. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the award committee, our exceptional author team, and CUHK Business School for the support in making this research possible.”

Established in 2000 by the Center for Families at Purdue University and the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award aims to promote high-quality research in the field of work and family. The award is granted annually to the authors of the best article published globally. The review process involves three rounds of evaluation by a panel of over 70 esteemed international scholars, who screen more than 5,000 articles from over 60 leading English-language academic journals. Selection criteria include strong connections to theory, large sample sizes, detailed data analysis, and creative solutions.

To learn more about this award-winning paper, visit CUHK Business School’s knowledge platform, China Business Knowledge (CBK), and read the feature article titled “Balancing Work and Family Can Change Your Personality.”