The real problem: The deadly combination of psychologisation,scientism, and normative promotionalism takes strategic human resource management down a 30‐year dead end

This paper engages with Troth and Guest (2019) on psychology in HRM. I argue they misframe the central issue in debate. The real problem is not psychology per se but psychologisation—the drive to reduce explanation of macro‐level HRM outcomes to individual‐level psychological‐behavioural factors and individual differences. Accordingly, the most visible and harmful effects of psychologisation are in strategic HRM and the HRM‐performance literature but Troth and Guest's defence of psychology does not cover them. I use this response to re‐establish that it is psychologisation, not psychology per se, that is the critics' focal concern and describe how the three‐decade advance of psychologisation, along with scholastic scientism and normative promotionalism, have created severe theoretical and empirical problems in the high‐performance research programme and taken the strategic HRM field down a 30‐year dead‐end. Suggestions for a turn‐around are provided.     

The psychologisation of employment relations?

This article argues that HRM is by nature a multidisciplinary subject area, and that it has traditionally been closely associated with the field of industrial relations (IR). However, it appears to have increasingly been taken over by industrial and organisational (I‐O) psychology, and in the process increasingly associated with organisational behaviour, which has also been taken over by I‐O psychology. Coupled with the narrowing and marginalisation of IR, this has meant an increasing ‘psychologisation’ not only of the study of HRM, but of the study of employment relations in general. This article discusses why this appears to have been happening, what its implications might be and what (if anything) might be done about it. Focus is on developments within North America, although the issues raised apply, perhaps, to different degrees, across liberal market countries and possibly beyond.     

The social contract of work: Moving beyond the psychological contract

This paper develops the critique of psychologisation by going narrow and deep into the analysis of the concept of the psychological contract. In its early incarnation, the psychological contract literature explored key elements at the heart of the employment relationship. However, in the current mainstream psychological contract literature, there are four key problems. The paper shows that these problems match on to the wider problems associated with pyschologisation. The concept of the social contract of work is put forward as a way to return productively to the original focus of the field. The social contract of work is defined as workers' implicit, collective, and socially embedded understanding of the effort bargain at work.     

Self-employment,educational attainment and employment protection legislation

We analyse how educational attainment and employment protection influence an individual's decision to become self-employed. By altering expected income from dependent employment, employment protection is likely to affect an individual's choice of occupation, although such a link has not been established in the literature so far. We argue that an interaction between an individual's educational attainment and the institution of employment protection exists when it comes to the decision regarding whether to become self-employed. Based on survey data from OECD countries, we find evidence for a negative interaction, and conclude that only after taking this interaction into account can the effect of employment protection and educational attainment on self-employment rates be assessed.     

Core processes and applicant reactions to the employment interview: an exploratory study in Greece

This research explores the employment interview in Greece with two aims: first, to look at the practice of the employment interview from the interviewer perspective, exploring a number of issues, which have been identified as important for increasing interview's effectiveness and second, to look at the role of interviewers' characteristics on applicant reactions and their behavioral intentions to the actual interview, using two independent samples of interviewers (N = 131) and actual job applicants (N = 122), respectively. The results of the first study were quite supportive regarding the effective use of the employment interview in Greece. In the second study, interviewers' personal characteristics were related to applicants' post-interview attitudes and intentions, although this relationship was fully mediated by the overall perception of the interview held by the job applicant. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

MNCs in Central,Southern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union: investment decisions and the regulation of employment

This article explores the relationship between the regulation of employment and the decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs) to invest in Central, Southern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Building on La Porta et al.'s work on legal origin, and its assumptions as to the incompatibility of owner and worker rights, the World Bank's Doing Business reports held that countries with stronger protection for worker rights represented poor destinations for investors. However, is it the case that investors are really deterred by employee rights? Our study investigates actual trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) through an analysis of UNCTAD World Investment Reports. We find that the level of individual and collective rights and social security legislation is not significantly associated with FDI.     

Mutuality in the management of human resources: assessing the quality of alignment in employment relationships

How can managers improve the alignment of organisational and individual interests in the management of human resources? This article integrates a diverse set of literatures to propose three tests of mutuality in employment relationships: (a) the quality of the match between the organisation's needs for human capabilities and the individual's needs to deploy and develop them; (b) the extent to which the organisation's dual needs for commitment and flexibility are aligned with the needs of individuals for security and community; and (c) the extent to which both parties feel they are making a worthwhile return on their investment. These tests form a starting point for assessing and modelling the quality of employment relationships in particular contexts.     

On why the gender employment gap in Britain has stalled since the early 1990s

Using over four decades of British micro data, this article looks at how the narrowing gender employment gap stalled in the early 1990s. Changes to the structure of employment between and within industry sectors impacted the gap at approximately constant rates throughout the period and do not account for the stall. Instead, changes to how women's likelihood of paid work was affected by their partners' characteristics explain most of the gap's shift in trend. Increases in women's employment when they had children or achieved higher qualifications continued to narrow the gap even after it had stalled overall.     

Skill shortages and firms' employment behaviour

This study investigates the effects of skill shortages on the dynamics of employment at the firm level for UK manufacturing between 1984–94. We find that shortages of skilled labour have a statistically significant effect on firms' employment behaviour. It has a positive effect on firms' adjustment costs leading to employment being more sluggish to respond when the labour market is tight, implying that employment adjustment will be more responsive in the downward direction. This result is robust to the inclusion of a measure of firms' sales expectations, with the effect of skill shortages being greater in periods when firms expect sales to rise.     

A re-examination of flexible employment practices in Japan

This article re-examines commonly held perspectives on flexible employment practices used in Japanese organisations. Recent research has concluded that market conditions have caused a shift away from lifetime employment and towards flexible employment. To examine this position, the literature is compared with statistics available from Japan's Nippon Keidanren, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Public Management Ministry, Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, the United Nations and OECD. A synthesis of these sources demonstrates that flexible employment practices are part of a historic, not recent, model of employment. Concluding with an integrated table of key labour market statistics, the article highlights a Western academic tendency to rely on the macro-level three pillars model and not use meso-level labour statistics as a reference point to define flexible employment conditions in Japanese organisations.     

Re-thinking employment quotas in the UAE

Emiratization is a government policy aimed at increasing the share of native workers in the UAE private sector. A distinguishing feature of Emiratization is the use of employment quotas for native workers so that the policy objective is met. We study the impact of the labor quota and find that its effect on native employment is ambiguous. While an increase in the employment quota for native workers increases the share of native workers, it also reduces the industry's production and employment of labor. The policy implications of the employment quota are significant, and ways to mitigate its negative impact include calibrating an optimal quota to maximize native employment, implementing the quota in industries facing less elastic demand for outputs and in industries where native and expatriate labor are closer substitutes.     

The impact of Greek labour market regulation on temporary employment – evidence from a survey in Thessaly,Greece

This paper uses an original data-set for 186 workplaces in Thessaly (central Greece), to study consequences of Greece's strict employment protection law (EPL) and national minimum wage for temporary employment. We find higher temporary work contract rates among workplaces that pay low wages close to the minimum. We also find that EPL ‘matters’, in particular, managers who prefer temporary contracts because temporary workers are less protected definitely employ more. Our findings thus support the view that a firm's HRM decisions regarding internal versus external allocation of tasks are influenced by labour regulation.     

The effect of strike replacement legislation on employment

Employers and employer groups often argue that restrictions on an employer's ability to use replacement workers during a strike reduce employment. This study analyzes provincial employment-to-population ratios for 1966–1994 and unionized bargaining unit employment growth rates for 1966–1993 to test for an impact of provincial strike replacement policies in Canada. A strike replacement ban that restricts the use of both permanent and temporary replacements is found to have adverse employment consequences. The results for reinstatement rights provisions (effectively banning permanent replacements) and professional strikebreaker bans are mixed.     

Support for part-time work as a channel to female employment: the moderating effects of national gender empowerment and labour market conditions

Using a multi-source data set collected across eight European countries, this article examines how characteristics of both the organizational environment and the larger national context relate to the organizational-level variable of women's employment. Our study revealed that, in countries that were high in gender empowerment measure (GEM), establishments that were more supportive of part-time work options also employed a higher proportion of women. One reason for this relationship may be that in high-GEM countries offering part-time employment is a way for an organization to signal its support for work–life balance, something that makes it more attractive to women. In countries with low GEM, an establishment's greater support for part-time work was associated with employing a greater proportion of women only when establishments experienced recruitment difficulties. Key differences in gender empowerment between countries are discussed.     

Promoting the informal sector as a source of gainful employment in developing countries: insights from Ghana

Although the informal sector continues to be the main source of employment in developing countries, little empirical research has been conducted into the human resource management (HRM) issues surrounding this sector in sub-Saharan Africa. Against this background, this study seeks to highlight the HRM issues, such as training and employment strategy, which are assuming increasing importance in the informal sector in developing countries. After reviewing the marginalist and structuralist debates on the informal sector, the paper looks at the Ghanaian government's attempt to transform the sector into a source of national economic development, entrepreneurship and self-employment. As part of this examination, the paper explores the question of whether the government's strategies can provide jobs for all who need them.

Based on the evidence of the empirical research, the paper argues that although the current Ghanaian government's informal employment strategy is a product of political expediency and, therefore, prone to pitfalls, it nevertheless constitutes a worthwhile attempt to combat unemployment in the long term. The paper also contends that in environments of perpetual economic crisis, which undermine the ability of sub-Saharan African (SSA) governments to generate adequate growth, it makes good socio-economic sense to promote the informal sector as a significant source of employment. The government's strategy should, therefore, be seen as an attempt to help the informal sector generate a level of employment above the marginal and survival. In this respect, the Ghanaian experience provides useful lessons for other SSA countries grappling with similar unemployment problems.     

Workplace learning and the employment relationship in the public sector

Training that is relevant to employers is not necessarily enriching for employees, especially those on the lower salary scales. The authors argue that the analysis of training and development needs to be understood in the context of the employment relationship. Drawing on reasearch evidence from six case studies in the public sector, the article examines the impact of changes in work organisation on workplace learning, managers' and employees' own strategies towards it and the limitations of tools such as appraisal. Since employees' existing qualifications are poorly utilised and their development needs often frustrated, issues concerning job design, occupational progression routes and employee entitlements need to be addressed.     

Understanding the employment relationship: markets,hierarchies and power

The employment relationship is fiercely contested both in theory and practice. This article examines recent theoretical initiatives in economics that have sought to illuminate the nature, specificity, and complexities of the employment relationship. It examines claims by proponents of the new institutional economics (NIE) that they can account for the historical emergence of authority relations and the dominance of hierarchical work organisations without reference to the forces of class power, coercion and labour subordination. The NIE is contrasted with the ‘old’ institutional economics (OIE) and the distinctive insights of an industrial relations perspective. The paper considers in conclusion whether a synthesis of NIE and industrial relations research would achieve a deeper understanding of the institutional forms of wage‐labour in contemporary capitalist economies.     

The impact of the European social fund on youth education and employment

The effectiveness of the European Union's Cohesion Policy in reducing regional socio-economic gaps remains an open empirical issue, while evidence as to how the policy is affected by specific territorial factors and which social groups benefit most from it remains sparse. This article seeks to address this gap by disentangling the impact of the European Social Fund (ESF) on youth education and employment prospects. Drawing on macro-level data for the European NUTS-2 regions, we assess the impact that this fund has on different education-specific youth population shares and employment rates. In the case of education, we find that the receipt of funding is associated with a human capital polarization of regional populations. Specifically, we identify a positive impact of the ESF on population shares with lower-secondary and tertiary education, and a simultaneous negative impact on the share of those with upper-secondary education. In the case of employment, we find a positive response for youth of all education levels. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that both the education and employment responses of the youth population to the receipt of the ESF are strongly influenced by local specialization in high-skilled activities.     

The meaning of work,employment relations,and strategic human resources management in Israel

The paper deals with the meaning of work, employment relations, and strategic human resources management. First it shows that Israeli workers have become more individualistic and materialistic, and less collectively oriented, as instrumental achievements outweigh contributions to society. These issues apparently influence employment relations and organizational policies. Next, it deals with the corporatist employment relations system, based on tri-partite collective bargaining among employees, employers, and the state. During various times, the relative balance of power among the three parties swayed considerably, according to major political, economic and social events taking place in society. The final section on strategic human resources management focuses on the transition of Israel's Human Resources profession, from the traditional HR role to the new Strategic Human Resource Management role. These three spheres have gone through some significant changes in the last several decades, perhaps not parallel to most industrial nations.     

When affective well-being is empowered: the joint role of leader-member exchange and the employment relationship

HRM and the leader are often assumed to play a joint role in affecting employee reactions. In a multilevel, time-lagged study, we examined the joint role of the employment relationship and leader-member exchange (LMX). We tested whether this joint role is essential to when LMX leads to affective well-being via psychological empowerment. We build on HRM literature to expect that the relationship of LMX with psychological empowerment is stronger when the employment relationship is consistent with LMX quality. Results indicated that psychological empowerment mediates the relationship between LMX and affective well-being. This mediation is stronger for employees in a mutual investment employment relationship. The findings point at the importance of consistency of resources from the employment relationship and LMX. Nevertheless, the findings also suggest that resources from LMX compensate for employment relationships with low resources. Our findings contribute to scholars’ understanding of the joint role of HRM systems and leader behaviors.