HRM and Employability

Employability is attracting growing attention from researchers and practitioners alike given the contemporary employment landscape – one characterized by technological changes, ageing populations, and competitive organizational environments. This interest is in part motivated by the realisation that employability implies a win-win situation as employable workers have stocks of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and they are flexible and open to change. However, the role of the employer and specifically their investments in Human Resource Management policies and practices are largely absent in the current employability discourse. Employability is usually regarded as an individual asset in which employees carry almost all responsibility for employability maintenance and development. Remarkably little has been done to remedy the neglect of the employer perspective and advance knowledge and practice.

This book brings together contributions from an international team of renowned management scholars who explore how Human Resource Management investments affect workers’ employability. Drawing on empirical evidence from all over the world, this book informs researchers, practitioners, and students in the fields of business and management, especially those with a particular interest in HRM and organizational behaviour.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Jasmijn van Harten is Associate Professor at the Utrecht School of Governance at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her expertise concerns HRM in public organizations, employability, well-being, and employer engagement in labour-market participation of vulnerable workers.

Nele De Cuyper is Professor at the Research Group Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology at KU Leuven, Belgium. Her expertise concerns employability, employee attitudes, well-being and behaviour, and precarious employment.

David Guest is Emeritus Professor at King’s Business School at King’s College, UK. His expertise concerns HRM, performance and employee well-being, employment relations and the psychological contract, and careers.

Mel Fugate is Professor at the Department of Management and Information Systems at the College of Business at Mississippi State University, USA. His expertise concerns reactions to organizational change, the effects of leadership and organizational culture on individual and organizational performance, and employability and careers.

Eva Knies is Professor at the Utrecht School of Governance at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Her expertise concerns strategic HRM, public service performance, HRM in the public sector, the role of line managers in HRM implementation, and sustainable employability.

Anneleen Forrier is Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business at KU Leuven, Belgium. Her expertise concerns employability, careers, (re)employment, and ageing policies.