Kate Zipay

Associate Professor
Organizational Behavior/Human Resources

Education

PhD, Management, University of Georgia
M.Acc., Accounting, University of South Florida
B.S., Accounting, Florida State University

Kate Zipay is an Associate Professor in the Organizational Behavior and Human Resources area at the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. Her research examines how people build healthy relationships with work by investigating the influence of experiences beyond the workplace—including leisure, hobbies, family, community, and third places—on employee well-being, motivation, and performance. She also studies interpersonal relationships at work, including organizational justice, psychological safety in third places, and the role of complex emotions in shaping employee outcomes. Her research has been published in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. She is the Center for Working Well Associate Director of Research and Impact.

Kate received her PhD from the University of Georgia. Prior to joining the faculty at Purdue, she began her academic career as an Assistant Professor at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon. Before pursuing her doctoral degree, she worked in public accounting at Deloitte.

In 2021, Kate was recognized as one of Poets & Quants' Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professors. She received the Lundquist College of Business Exceptional Teaching Award for Core Business Courses (2019–2021) and the Daniels School of Business Teaching Innovation Award in 2026. In 2025, Kate was also named to the Thinkers50 Radar alongside Dr. Allie Gabriel, recognizing them as emerging management thinkers whose work is shaping the future of management.

In the classroom, Kate focuses on preparing students to lead effectively in changing organizations and cultivate workplaces that are healthy, meaningful, and high performing. Professionally, she serves on the Executive Committee of the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management, where she chairs the Making Connections Committee and leads flagship professional development programming for the Academy of Management Annual Meeting. She also serves on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Journal and Journal of Applied Psychology.

Have Your Cake, Eat It, and Work Better
The Daniels School’s Kate Zipay, an assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resources, says we should treat leisure and work as allies, not enemies.
Full story: Have Your Cake, Eat It, and Work Better

Reimagining Conferences
The Daniels School’s Allie Gabriel and Kate Zipay advise on how to offer a conference that goes beyond information dissemination and centers on meaningful community.
Full story: Reimagining Conferences
Daniels School scholars honored for pioneering work on employee well-being
Purdue’s Kate Zipay and Allie Gabriel have been named to the prestigious 2026 Thinkers50 Radar list, which recognizes 30 up-and-coming global management thinkers whose ideas are shaping the future of work and leadership.
Leadership Reads: The Power of Flexing
Kate Zipay recommends a Sue Ashford book that advocates for embracing small, intentional experiments in your work and life.
Purdue Expert: Can your hobbies help you succeed in your career?
Kate Zipay discusses work-leisure synergy: incorporating elements of work into leisure time to develop skills and competencies for the workplace. In her research, Zipay found that people who engage in leisure-work synergizing show up to work feeling more self assured and confident.
Kate Zipay on how to succeed at work without sacrificing your free time
As burnout rises, more experts are convinced that working harder isn’t the key to success – working smarter is.
Purdue professor uncovers how blending leisure and work enhances positivity and effectiveness
There’s a new way to let your hobbies help you succeed in your career called leisure-work synergy, says the Daniels School's Kate Zipay.
Leadership Reads: 'Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working'
Professor Kate Zipay begins a monthly series of leadership book recommendations with a selection aimed at helping people get unstuck.
Leisure-Work Synergy Can Help Us Thrive Personally and Professionally
Kate Zipay says we should treat leisure and work as allies, not enemies.
Daniels School faculty awarded $50k to fund research with human transformation platform BetterUp
A pair of faculty members at Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business were recently awarded $50,000 to fund an 18-month research project by BetterUp and its Center for Purpose and Performance.
How Compassion Shapes Leaders’ Response to Employee Misconduct
Daniels School professor Kate Zipay contributes to research on leniency and leadership in the face of employee misconduct.
How To Write An Email Signature That Actually Promotes A Life Outside Work
The best way to determine if your signature aligns with your company culture is to observe and talk with others.
Celebrations, and Having Fun, Truly Matter
Research shows that having fun in a professional setting enhances problem-solving skills, boosts creativity and productivity, and leads to lower turnover and higher morale.
Purdue Expert: Holiday Breaks from Work
Kate Zipay details how to use time off from work as a true form of rest and best practices to do so. Use this time to reflect, orient yourself to your hobbies outside of work and goals you may have for work in the next year. From the employer viewpoint make sure your employees have time off and offer generous gifts that the employees want to receive.
Purdue Expert: Advantages of a 4 day Work Week
Kate Zipay is a professor of organizational behavior and human resources in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. In this video, she explains what the advantages of the 4-day work week are and how employers could be missing out on productivity and talent if they do not take this opportunity seriously.
Purdue Expert: Work Life Balance
Kate Zipay is a professor of organizational behavior and human resources in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. In this video, she explains how life outside of work impacts employees and organizations.