Professor Burgess's research interests center around employee identity, organizational justice, and the work/non-work interface. In her research on identity, Professor Burgess has explored the emotional and behavioral consequences of dwelling on forgone identities, the role of gratitude in reflecting on "the road taken," and how employees cope with the identity issues that arise from near-death experiences. Her research on justice has investigated the effects of talking about unfairness, how third party observers react to unfair decisions, and the distinction between justice and injustice. Her research on work/non-work has investigated whether supervisors’ experiences at home influence their subsequent fairness toward their subordinates and how working mothers’ needs change as their children age.