Rafaeli's research spans different aspects of Organisational Behavior and Organizational Theory. Early in her career she conducted and published studies that invalidated the notion of the utility of graphology or handwriting analysis for personnel selection. In a separate line of work she published studies which tested and disproved the economic viability of employment advertising. Her showed that the use of employment advertising is not economically viable especially in comparison to employee referrals.[5] On top of these Rafaeli worked in the field of quality circles and their positive impact on employees' emotions.[4]
Rafaeli's major contribution is in defining the presentation of emotion as part of employment roles in the context of emotional labor as a factor in organizational processes.[6] Working together with Robert I. Sutton, Rafaeli identified mechanisms of recruitment, instruction and rewards to employees which exert emotions that are required as part of their jobs. She has researched the importance of the dress code in the workplace in general and in the service industry in particular. This research was conducted as part of a larger work on symbols and artifacts in the workplace. Rafaeli's research papers have also touched on the world of customer service. She studied the psychology of queues and queue management and the impact of anger of customers towards employees.[4] Rafaeli researched customer service through technology media channels, such as online chat in collaborations with IBM and LivePerson.[7] for which she received an IBM research award.[8]
Public activism
Rafaeli is a member of the Academic Boards of Israel's Open University and the Ort Braude Academic College of Engineering Rafaeli was on the executive board of WomensOwn, an organization for the economic empowerment of women in Israel. Together with her brother she established the Avital foundation which helps support the education of young women who had been deprived of education because they were brought up in ultra-orthodox families. She was on the board of Hillel "Hillel Right to Chose"., an Israeli-nonprofit dedicated to helping young adults who have left the ultra-orthodox world lead successful lives as members of Israeli society, and also on the board of Haifa's Battered Women’s Shelters. She is currently on the board of Haifa's Rape Crisis Center, which is a part of "The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel".
Published works
Expression of emotion as part of the work role - link
When cashiers meet customers: An analysis of the role of supermarket cashiers - link
Emotion as a connection of physical artifacts and organizations - link
"Artifacts and Organizations", a book Rafaeli wrote together with Michael. G. Pratt - link
