Maria completed her B.Sc. in Business Administration at the University of Amsterdam and her M.Sc. in International Management at the Vienna Wirtschaftsuniversität. During her studies, she worked as a Research Assistant and gained academic experience in the fields of leadership and corporate social responsibility. In her master thesis, she explored the role of gratitude as a coping mechanism in high-stress environments, with a particular focus in the banking industry. After her studies, she moved to Zurich and worked for two years in the financial sector, before joining the UZH Chair of HRM and Leadership as a Research Associate. She is interested in further investigating how appreciation and other desired emotions can impact the workplace in the context of the Future of Work.