Conceptualising the nexus between macro-level ‘turbulence’ and the worker experience

Abstract

In this article, we introduce the special issue on conceptualising the nexus between macro-level ‘turbulence’ and the worker experience. We discuss ‘turbulence’ as economic, political, social, technological, and environmental crises occurring in the macro-environment and affecting the world of work. We argue that human resource management plays a critical role in supporting not only the organisation, but also workers, to navigate through macro-level events. Based on the contributions included in this Special Issue, we suggest a novel framework that situates and expands the role of the Human Resources (HR) function in contemporary organisations by proposing a new role, the Proactive Carer. We argue that the debates around the role of HR and HR professionals have so far been too narrow and internally focused. It is time to expand this role to be externally facing, proactively monitoring the macro-environment for significant events, anticipating any significant changes for workers, and designing interventions to minimise any negative impact. We conclude by highlighting avenues for future research.