He is currently teaching as a professor at the "Hanken School of Economics" in Helsinki and Linköping University, Sweden.
Hearn's research interests range from critical studies on men, including men's violences to women and children; Sociology of organisations and management, including gender, sexuality and violence in and around organisations; Globalisation and transnationalism, with a focus on men, organisations, management and social welfare; and social theory; to sociology of culture.
A review of some of his work on men and masculinities is to be found in the book: Fidelma Ashe 'The New Politics of Masculinity', Routledge, 2006, and another on his work with Wendy Parkin on gender, sexuality and organisations in the book: Tommy Jensen and Timothy L: Wilson (eds.)
With David Morgan, Colin Creighton, Chris Middleton, Ray Thomas and Clive Pearson, he initiated some ground rules for the study of men and masculinity, published as 'Changing men's sexist practice in sociology', Network, No 25, January 1983.
Following work in the Men and Masculinity Research/Study Group at Bradford, the principles were developed and published in Achilles' Heel in 1987, and 3 years later Hearn and Morgan appended a sixth in the book "Men, Masculinities and Social Theory".