Call for Papers | Special Issue of Studies in Psychology: The Changing World of Work and Its Implications for Workers

Call for Papers

Special Issue of Studies in Psychology: The Changing World of Work and Its Implications for Workers

Guest Editor: Gokce Basbug, Durham University

The world of work is evolving rapidly due to technological innovations as well as economic, social, and environmental challenges. This Special Issue of Studies in Psychology aims to bring together articles that explore how these changes affect workers and shape their work and career experiences.

Technological advancements, including developments in information and communication technologies (ICT), robotics, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI), are profoundly transforming work environments (Cascio & Montealegre, 2016). These advancements are reshaping jobs and tasks, influencing how work is performed and experienced (Parker & Grote, 2022). While some roles become obsolete, others necessitate new training and skill acquisition. These changes have significant implications for workers. They may instill fear in some workers due to potential job loss, while some other workers may intensify efforts to update their skills or acquire new ones to adapt to these changes.

New technologies are also transforming organizations’ human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. Managers are increasingly incorporating data analytics into decision-making processes, creating opportunities for data-driven, evidence-based management (Marler & Boudreau, 2017). However, this shift also introduces risks, such as intensified monitoring of employee behaviors, which can profoundly impact employee attitudes, motivation, and well-being (König, 2025).

Another critical implication of technological developments is the rise of platform work and digital labor markets. These new forms of work enable more flexible work arrangements, significantly affecting worker outcomes, such as job satisfaction and autonomy (Cropanzano et al., 2023). Advancements in ICT have also increased the prevalence of remote work. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated the adoption of remote work arrangements, blurring the boundaries between work and family life. These changes have raised concerns about work-life balance and role conflicts (Van Zoonen & Sivunen, 2022).

Work and workplaces also face significant economic, social and environmental challenges. The urgent need to address climate change is profoundly restructuring workplaces. The transition to environmentally friendly organizational practices is creating new job demands and roles, requiring employees to adapt to new working environments (Ones et al., 2018).

Additionally, demographic shifts in the workforce are presenting new challenges (Kochan et al., 2019). Aging populations, women’s labor force participation, and migration patterns are altering workforce composition. Migrants, older workers, women, and individuals from minority groups often encounter unique challenges that can impact their career trajectories, work experiences, and overall well-being.

For this Special issue, we welcome submissions that address these and other changes affecting work, workplaces, and workers. Submissions that draw on diverse perspectives within psychology, including industrial and organizational psychology, personnel psychology, work psychology, vocational psychology, and occupational health psychology, are particularly encouraged. We also welcome interdisciplinary approaches that bring psychological approaches together with other disciplinary perspectives to examine the changing world of work, employment, and organizations. We invite contributions of all types, including empirical papers (quantitative and qualitative), review articles (systematic and meta-analytical), and conceptual articles.

Potential themes for the Special Issue include, but are not limited to: 

• How does digitalization affect employees and their outcomes (e.g., job performance, job satisfaction, well-being)?
• What are the impacts of technological advancements on job roles, demands, and skills requirements? Are new technologies introducing additional work stressors?
• What are the dynamics of human-robot interaction?
• How does the use of data analytics in HRM influence employee attitudes, experiences, and behaviors?
• What are the psychometric properties of AI-driven tools used in personnel selection and assessment?
• What are the implications of using novel telecommuting technologies (e.g., online meetings) for job satisfaction and performance?
• What are the cross-cultural differences in workers’ experiences with new technologies?
• How does the use of social media influence workers’ subjective and objective career outcomes?
• How does trust among employees develop and evolve in virtual teams?
• What leadership challenges arise in the changing world of work?
• What are the effects of new workplace technologies that enable increased monitoring and surveillance on employees' health?
• What are the implications of remote work for employee attitudes, well-being and work-life balance?
• How do individual differences influence remote work experience?
• How does flexible platform work affect the boundaries between work and personal life?
• How are economic, social, and environmental challenges affecting young workers’ career goals and decisions?
• What strategies can organizations use to design workplace training focusing on upskilling older employees?
• How job demands influence migrant worker’s turnover intentions? What mediators and moderators exist between HRM practices and migrant workers’ job performance and motivation?

Submission Process and Timeline

Submissions should be made electronically through the submission system at https://dergipark.org.tr/en/journal/502/submission/step/manuscript/new  by July 31, 2025. If you have any questions, please email sp@istanbul.edu.tr

References

Cascio, W. F., & Montealegre, R. (2016). How technology is changing work and organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3(1), 349-375.

Cropanzano, R., Keplinger, K., Lambert, B. K., Caza, B., & Ashford, S. J. (2023). The organizational psychology of gig work: An integrative conceptual review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(3), 492.

Kochan, T. A., Riordan, C. A., Kowalski, A. M., Khan, M., & Yang, D. (2019). The changing nature of employee and labor-management relationships. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6(1), 195-219.

König, C. J. (2024). Electronic Monitoring at Work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 12(9), 1-22.

Marler, J. H., & Boudreau, J. W. (2017). An evidence-based review of HR Analytics. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(1), 3-26.

Ones, D. S., Dilchert, S., Wiernik, B. M., & Klein, R. M. (2018). Environmental sustainability at work. In The SAGE Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology (pp. 351-373). SAGE Publications Ltd.

Parker, S. K., & Grote, G. (2022). More than ‘more than ever’: Revisiting a work design and sociotechnical perspective on digital technologies. Applied Psychology, 71(4), 1215-1223.

Van Zoonen, W., & Sivunen, A. E. (2022). The impact of remote work and mediated communication frequency on isolation and psychological distress. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 31(4), 610-621.