Chicas has three overlapping streams of research: diversity & immigration, intergenerational behavior, and narrative identity. First, he studies immigrants and their descendants and explores how their personal and familial stories of sacrifice have larger workplace implications. Second, he investigates parent-child dyads and how dyadic episodes early in life affect the child well into their careers. Last, he explores the dynamic nature of how employees ascribe meaning to their lives and work.
His work appears in outlets such as Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Academy of Management Proceedings.