I am a historical social scientist of work and wellbeing and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Welfare and Labor Research, Oslo Metropolitan University. My research analyzes job quality and quality of life in the past, focusing on the impacts of technology. From 2023–2024 I was the leader of the Work and Wellbeing in History project, funded by the Center for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
My PhD at the University of Oxford analyzed the impact of innovation on work during the Industrial Revolution. As part of this project, I constructed the first system to measure job quality in the past, the Historical Job Quality Indicators. More information about my doctoral thesis and HJQI documentation is available on the Research page.
Before my PhD, I was a Research Associate for the New York-based and nationally-acclaimed housing assistance organization Jericho Project. I also contributed to the Freedom on the Move project and helped to compile American Capitalism: A Reader. My CV is available here.
Banner Image: Coalbrookdale Viaduct, Shropshire, UK
© Ben Schneider 2019–2025