New ways of working and the implications for employees: a systematic framework and suggestions for future research

Abstract

Researchers and practitioners are becoming increasingly concerned with the consequences of modern work arrangements for our understanding of work. This article, alongside the four papers which are included in the special issue, explores the implications of new ways of working for employees. We conceptualise new ways of working as an ongoing transformative process, characterised by unprecedented spread, speed and depth of transformation, and highlight four major changes in work which impact employees’ experiences. We critically evaluate the implications of each change for employees’ attitudes, performance and wellbeing, and suggest areas where more research is needed to deepen our knowledge about how modern work arrangements affect employees.