Human-AI Relations at Work: Navigating Employee Relations in the Age of Digitalization
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Human-AI Relations at Work: Navigating Employee Relations in the Age of Digitalization
Journal: Employee Relations: The International Journal
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission Opens: 15 November 2025
Submission Deadline: 15 September 2026
Introduction / Rationale
AI and digital tools—machine learning, predictive analytics, algorithmic management, generative AI, monitoring systems—are reshaping how work is managed, supervised, and controlled. Traditional employee relations concepts (voice, trust, fairness, grievance, industrial relations, manager–employee interaction) are being challenged as parts of the “manager” role are embedded in software. This Special Issue examines how AI and digital technologies transform the relational, normative, and institutional foundations of employee–organization relationships, filling a gap at the intersection of industrial relations/employee relations and technology studies.
Guest Editor
Dr Muhammad Imran Rasheed 📧 (Imran.rasheed@surrey.ac.uk)
Scope & Objectives
Reconceptualize employee relations constructs (voice, grievance, trust, participation, union–management relations, gig work, subcontracting) in AI‑inflected workplaces.
Empirically examine impacts of AI/digital systems on justice, job satisfaction, burnout, conflict, resistance, or cooperation.
Explore governance, institutional mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks for fairness, algorithmic accountability, and employee recourse.
Bridge analysis from micro (individual) to meso (team/department) to macro/institutional (labour law, unions, policy).
Encourage methodological innovation: mixed methods, longitudinal, ethnographic, critical, design‑science, and action‑research approaches.
List of Topic Areas
Algorithmic Management & Control
Predictive scheduling, performance algorithms, automated decisions’ impact on power dynamics.
Worker responses: acceptance, adaptation, resistance, gaming.
Transparency, explainability, appeals, and human oversight.
Voice, Participation, Grievance & Recourse
Employee ability to challenge algorithmic decisions.
Digital “voice” vs. union grievance channels.
Collective organizing and management of dissent under AI.
Fairness, Justice, Ethics, Discrimination
Distributive, procedural, interactional justice in algorithmic decisions.
Bias in AI for hiring, promotion, compensation, discipline.
Ethical AI design for fairness and redress.
Trust, Psychological Safety & Autonomy
Employee perceptions of autonomy under AI supervision/augmentation.
Trust in AI, managers using AI, and organizations.
Effects on psychological safety, voice, and collaboration.
Skills, Learning, Reskilling & Role Shifts
AI‑driven changes in job boundaries and role expectations.
Upskilling, deskilling, task shifting, learning trajectories.
Identity tensions between human and machine tasks.
Human‑AI Teaming & Collaboration
Hybrid decision‑making: human–AI joint judgments.
Allocation of control: human override vs. AI override.
Trust calibration, role clarity, overreliance.
Institutional, Legal, Policy & Union Perspectives
Labour law and collective agreements on algorithmic decision‑making.
Regional regulation (e.g., EU AI Act) and implications.
Union strategies: audits, governance boards, “right to explanation.”
Contexts & Impact Across Settings
Gig work and platform labour (algorithmic dispatch, ratings).
Cross‑country comparisons (regulatory, cultural norms).
Sector‑specific studies: services, healthcare, manufacturing, back‑office.
Longitudinal, Critical & Design‑Based Studies
Tracking relational outcomes pre‑ and post‑AI implementation.
Critical/qualitative work on narratives, resistance, ethics, surveillance.
Design interventions: fairness dashboards, AI‑led grievance systems, explanatory tools.
Key Deadlines
📅 Manuscript submission opens: 15 November 2025
⏰ Manuscript submission deadline: 15 September 2026
Submission Guidelines
Submissions via ScholarOne Manuscripts; follow author guidelines strictly. Select “Human‑AI Relations at Work: Navigating Employee Relations in the Age of Digitalization” from the special issue dropdown. Original work only; not under consideration elsewhere.
🌐 Submission Portal: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/erel
🌐 Author Guidelines: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/er
About the Journal
Employee Relations: The International Journal, by Emerald Group Publishing, is a leading outlet for research on employment relations, industrial relations, workplace governance, and the changing dynamics between employees, managers, and institutions.
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