Human Resources and Industrial Relations

This interest group builds on a long tradition of excellence in the fields of human resources, industrial/employment relations, work, employee wellbeing, international and comparative HRM, technological change, labour economics and labour law research held by members of the Department of Management.

The Human resources and industrial relations research interest group aims to provide an excellent environment for those who conduct research on the effective and equitable management or representation of people. We seek to explore how such goals are being achieved to benefit all stakeholders, including; workers, employers of all sizes, unions, governments, other communities and the wider society.

As an interdisciplinary and collaborative team, our work contributes to understanding how and why Human Resources (HR) and Industrial Relations (IR) operate as they do and seeks to offer insights and solutions for the future. By combining leading academic research with contemporary practices, we aim to contribute to enhanced organisational performance, improved wellbeing for workers, managers and other organisational stakeholders, and improved public policy.

By synthesising what is often seen as the adversarial concepts of HR and IR, we draw on views where robust debate and exploring difficult issues are second nature. We have worked with many leading organisations in Victoria, Australia and internationally, including the Victorian WorkCover Authority, the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand, the International Labour Organisation, and the United Nations. We have received significant funding from these and other agencies.

Our peer-reviewed research has been published and highly cited across leading journals, including Accident Analysis and Prevention, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources; British Journal of Industrial Relations; British Journal of Management; Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal; Human Relations; Human Resource Management; Human Resource Management Review; Human Resource Management Journal; Industrial & Labor Relations Review; Industrial Relations Journal; International Journal of Human Resource Management; International Labour Review; Journal of Industrial Relations; Journal of Management Studies; New Technology, Work & Employment; Personnel Review; Public Administration.

Our members serve as the Co-Editor in Chief of Human Resource Management and the International Journal of Human Resource Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, and Associate Editor of Human Resource Management Review. 

Further, we contribute more broadly to the field through editorial board positions such as Human Resource Management Journal, Journal of Industrial Relations, Journal of Management, Human Resource Management Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and Personnel Review.