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Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the organisations in the form of increased job demands which manifested through increased workload, time pressure, etc. Similarly, stress and burnout engulfed the employees. Remote work became the new normal post-pandemic. Remote workers require more engagement. This has brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the forefront for engaging employees in the new normal.

Purpose: With limited studies on AI-enabled employee engagement in the new normal, this study investigates and proposes a conceptual framework of employee engagement in the context of AI and its impact on organisations.

Methodology: A systematic review and meta-synthesis method is undertaken. A systematic literature review assisted in critically analysing, synthesising, and mapping the extant literature by identifying the broad themes.

Findings: Since many organisations are turning to remote work post-pandemic and remote work requires more engagement, organisations are investing in AI to boost employee engagement in the new normal. Several antecedents of employee engagement such as quality of work life, diversity and inclusion, and communication are facilitated by AI. AI helps enhance the quality of work life by playing a major role in providing fair compensation, safe and healthy working conditions, immediate opportunity to use and develop human capacities, continued growth and security, work and total life space, and social relevance of work life. This has led to positive organisational outcomes like increased productivity, employee well-being, and decreased attrition rate. Furthermore, AI helps in measuring employee engagement. The various tools of AI, such as wearable technology, digital biomarker, neural network, data mining, data analytics, machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), etc., have gone a long way in engaging employees in the new normal.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has become the norm for many employees and their families in Germany. Although WFH has been suggested as a form of flexible work to foster work–life integration (especially for workers with greater care responsibilities), studies have also pointed to its risks when the boundaries between these two life spheres become blurred. To help disentangle these inconsistent findings in relation to work–family conflict, this study focuses on two main concerns: the relevance of additional forms of flexibility for those who work from home (i.e., temporal flexibility, job autonomy, fixed rules about availability) and the implications of WFH for employees’ social relationships with co-workers and supervisors. Based on linked employer–employee data collected in the spring of 2021, the study examined work-to-family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC) among a sample of 885 employees who worked from home. The results indicate that three factors – temporal flexibility, job autonomy, and fixed rules about availability as a way to set boundaries between work and family life – are important predictors of fewer work–family conflict. This equally applies to employees with caring obligations who overall experience more work–family conflicts while WFH. For those who cared for relatives, autonomy contributed even to fewer work–family conflicts. Supportive relationships with supervisors and co-workers are certainly directly beneficial when it comes to avoiding conflict, but they also reinforce the positive implications of flexible work, whereas poor relationships counteract the benefits of such flexibility. Thus, employers need to provide additional forms of flexibility to employees who work from home and should pay attention to social relationships among their employees as a way to support families and other individuals.

New ways of working (NWW) change some fundamental processes in the workplace. NWW practices like teleworking, flexible workspaces, and flexible working hours lead to different behaviors of employees. But does the employment of NWW practices also have an impact on the innovation behavior of employees? This chapter explores this relationship and uses qualitative data from case studies to illustrate the complex linkages between three components of NWW and IWB.

The concept of “Workplace Spirituality (WPS)” in the field of management has gained great interest in the last decade, especially due to its connection with profitability. There has been a rapid increase in research related to the topic. It is assumed that employees who spend a significant part of their time at work are willing to satisfy their spiritual needs at the workplace. Such unprecedented challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic have posed many difficulties for organizations to remain agile, develop and grow, and innovate to survive. At this very moment, the importance and meaning of WPS for managers appear to have increased even more. Workplace spirituality is related to motivation, belongingness, and loyalty, and the pandemic seems to have created significant issues concerning these topics with employees. Employees have been forced to work from home due to prolonged restrictions and have faced difficulties in returning to work post-pandemic. Workplace spirituality has the potential to help employees stay motivated in their work, increase their job performance, enhance job satisfaction, and improve their mental health during this difficult period. Organizations can support their employees by implementing different practices to develop workplace spirituality. In this article, approaches to satisfy the spiritual needs of employees post-pandemic, and the efforts of workplaces to meet these needs, are examined with insights from theoretical and practical life.

This survey study among 111 teleworkers in a bank organization investigated the relationship between telework intensity and individual productivity, and whether this relationship was mediated by employees’ intrinsic motivation. Also the moderating role of office hours in the model’s associations was studied. Based on the Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) and the professional isolation literature (e.g., Golden, Vega, & Dino, 2008), we developed and tested a set of hypotheses. Partly in line with expectations, we found a direct curvilinear relationship between telework intensity and individual productivity, characterized by a slight, non-significant positive association at the low telework intensity end, and a significant negative association for the high telework intensity end. Strikingly, we neither found support for a mediating role of intrinsic motivation, nor for a moderation effect of the number of office hours in the relationship between telework intensity and intrinsic motivation. However, the direct relationship between telework intensity and individual productivity appeared to be moderated by the number of office hours. It was concluded that consequences for productivity are contingent on telework intensity, and that the number of office hours has an important impact on the consequences of different telework intensities. The study’s outcomes can inform management and HR practitioners to understand how to implement and appropriately make use of telework.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) employees constitute one of the largest, but least studied, minority groups in the workforce. This article examines what we know, and what we need to know, about the career and workplace experiences of this understudied population. The construct of sexual identity is defined, followed by a review of the research on sexual orientation in the workplace. Then an analysis of the differences between LGB employees and other stigmatized groups is presented. Three unique challenges facing LGB employees are identified, and conceptual models are developed that explain underlying processes. Finally, career theories are critically analyzed, and an identity-based longitudinal theory of LGB careers is presented.

To provide a conceptual framework for understanding the role of organizational control in the context of remote work arrangements.

The framework has been developed drawing on two distinct research streams. Existing frameworks on remote work arrangements enabled to identify relevant dimensions to include in our framework, namely drivers of adoption and outcomes of implementation. They also evidenced the importance of opening up the remote work implementation process addressing crucial management issues, notably organizational control. On the basis of extant organizational research we deconstructed the complexity of organizational control in its constituent elements and identified mechanisms of control enactment over time.

The framework links the dynamics of change in organizational control initiated by the adoption of remote work arrangements with its antecedents (drivers of adoption and characteristics of the remote work model) and implementation outcomes at individual, group and organizational level. It opens the implementation stage focusing on the dynamics of organizational control and clarifies its role when the organization decides to adopt remote working.

The framework assumes that organizational control is not a static entity but a process of mutual constitution between structures of controls and actions enacted over time by both managers and employees (remote workers and on-site colleagues). It shows the value of a process perspective that emphasizes time mechanisms underlying changes in organizational control of remote work. Moreover, it constitutes a valuable reference guide to interpret in an integrated way existing research on the issue and identify inconsistencies in empirical findings, relevant gaps and opportunities for future research.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of working from home (WFH), which contributed to widespread loneliness at a global level. Drawing on the theory of social exchange, this chapter examines how WFH, masculinity contest culture (MCC) at work, and co-worker support impact workplace loneliness. A theoretical model is developed, which adds to the scarce literature on workplace loneliness and MCC, while practical recommendations are also provided to enable organisational leaders and human resource practitioners to decrease workplace loneliness.

Introduction: Human resource management (HRM) is going through a transformation phase due to the pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis compelled the employees to work virtually. To mitigate the effects of COVID-19, several organisations heavily invested in artificial intelligence (AI) in the realm of HRM.

Purpose: With limited studies on the paradigm shift in HRM post-pandemic and the role of AI, the study investigates and proposes a conceptual framework for the paradigm shift in HRM practices post-COVID-19 pandemic and the significance of AI. Furthermore, the study investigates the outcomes of the use of AI in HRM for organisations and employees.

Methodology: A comprehensive review of the literature based on the guidelines of Tranfield, Denyer, and Smart (2003) and Crossan and Apaydin (2010) has been followed. A systematic literature review assisted in critically analysing, synthesising, and mapping the extant literature by identifying the broad themes involved.

Findings: COVID-19-related economic disruption has led to a paradigm shift in HRM practices. AI-enabled HRM practices are now centred around remote and contingent workforce management, mindfulness, social capital, increasing employee engagement, reskilling and upskilling towards new competencies, etc. AI is making remote work seamless through smooth recruitment and selection process, onboarding, career and development, tracking and managing the performance, facilitating learning, and talent management. Post-pandemic, AI-powered tools based on data mining (DM), predictive analytics, big data analytics, natural language processing (NLP), intelligent robots, machine learning (ML), virtual (VR)/augmented reality (AR), etc., have paved the way for managing the HRM practices effectively, thereby leading to enhanced organisational performance, employee well-being, automation, and reduced cost.

A distinguishing feature of strategic human resource management research is an emphasis on human resource (HR) systems, rather than individual HR practices as a driver of individual and organizational performance. Yet, there remains a lack of agreement regarding what these systems are, which practices comprise these systems, how these systems operate, and how they should be studied. Our goal in this paper is to take a step toward identifying and addressing several conceptual and methodological issues regarding HR systems. Conceptually, we argue that HR systems should be targeted toward some strategic objective and operate by influencing (1) employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, (2) employee motivation and effort, and (3) opportunities for employees to contribute. Methodologically, we explore issues related to the relationships among policies and practices, sampling issues, identifying the appropriate referent group(s), and who should serve as key informants for HR system studies.