She published her undergraduate history thesis Nineteenth century British Psychiatry: Professionalization, Somatic Theorization and Practice in 1990 with advisor Ian Dowbiggin.
[3] While working under the guidance of John Kotter, Rothbard interviewed successful male and female executives and was "struck by the fact that non-work subjects like divorces and problems with kids kept creeping into the conversation.
[7] Rothbard also collaborated with researchers at Columbia Business School and Ohio State University to test whether forcing co-workers to attend work social events led to improved workplace relationships.
[8] As a result of her research into the impact of emotions on work, specifically in areas of workplace motivation, teamwork, and work–life balance, Rothbard was named a Penn Fellow during the 2015 academic year.
[10] This accumulated into a Harvard Business Review article titled Building Work-Life Boundaries in the WFH Era, about how employees were "navigating the divide between work and home during the pandemic.