Ali Block

I spent fifteen years dancing professionally, but I knew from early on in my dance career that I would want to eventually pursue a second career that helps people face the pressures and challenges of high-pressure work environments like those of ballet companies.  I initially thought that I would want to be a therapist in my second career.  I began my undergrad classes at Columbia University School of General Studies in the middle of my dance career, and attended school part-time for years.  While studying psychology at Columbia, I fell in love with the research side of the field, and realized that I could also make an impact and help people through psychology research.  The past few years, I have slowly transitioned from being a full-time dancer to being a full-time researcher, and along the way, I have begun to find my new identity as a researcher.  I hope to pursue research that will translate to applied changes in organizations.  Ultimately, during my PhD and beyond, I intend to develop a program of research that discovers how managers and leaders in high-pressure work organizations can enact policies and shift social norms that improve employee well-being, employee mental health, and promote healthier forms of perfectionism.  Organizational behavior research has shaped much of existing workplace policies.  Much of what seems obvious to us in workplace structures now is obvious because of the contributions of OB scholarship.  I hope to contribute in some part to re-shaping the norms of organizations.