How are alternative working arrangements shaping the roles of HR professionals? Evidence from tech-oriented firms in China
基于对中国科技企业29名HR的深度访谈，研究了替代性工作安排如何影响HR的角色履行、角色协同及领导决策风格的作用。
Alternative Working Arrangements (AWAs) are attracting increasing interest due to their potential to enhance temporal and locational flexibility. This interest puts HR professionals at the center of developments in flexible working strategy and practice. In this article, we examine how AWAs are shaping the roles performed by HR professionals in tech-oriented firms in China, where long working hours are increasingly being contested. Rich qualitative data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 29) and analyzed thematically. The findings demonstrate how AWAs contextually shape the roles performed by HR professionals, the fulfilment of these roles, and the development of role synergies. The participants’ accounts reveal how HR professionals perform their roles in devising and implementing AWAs, either proactively or reactively, and how typical leadership decision-making styles in an organization (participative or top-down) shape the integration or isolation of these roles. Drawing on these findings, we highlight the dynamic interaction between the roles HR professionals fulfil with respect to AWAs.