Welcome!

Thanks for visiting my website. I’m a PhD candidate in Management & Organizations at NYU Stern School of Business.

I study how beliefs about worth shape who gets valued, why, and what happens when these assumptions go unexamined in organizational life. My work focuses on domains that are often overlooked or undervalued—like play, relationships, and moral leadership—to understand how rehumanizing these “nonmarket” aspects of work can foster more equitable and flourishing organizations.

My first line of research explores how play, often dismissed as frivolous, can build stronger teams, increase belonging, and support mental health at work. I show that social play can enhance psychological safety, relational trust, and team cohesion.

My second stream investigates the microfoundations of networks—why people struggle to maintain ties, what holds them back from asking for help or making referrals, and how relational ruptures like ghosting affect networks. These projects reveal the hidden costs of inaction and the cognitive and emotional labor of connection.

A third stream explores how people use moral meaning systems to justify inequality. I examine how people contest unequal status hierarchies by targeting either rankings (who is on top) or bases (what makes someone worthy of status). In related work, I study how Christian beliefs such as grace are used to justify advantage in life outcomes.  I also examine how Christian leaders frame inequality, how religious appeals affect polarization, and how religion and race jointly shape trust in institutions.

My work has been featured in outlets such as Psychology Today, Psypost, Nautilus Magazine, Coping with Ghosting, Worklife with Adam Grant, INSEAD Knowledge, Jonathan Haidt's After Babel, Briefings Magazine. 

To get in touch, please email me at yejin (dot) park (at) stern (dot) nyu (dot) edu.