Brexit: human resourcing implications

Purpose: Three years on from the Brexit vote, while it remains a central topic for debate in the media, there has been limited discussion about the human resource (HR) implications. The purpose of this paper is to provide theoretical evaluation and informed discussion, distilled into four interconnected propositions, on how employee resourcing as a HR practice may be impacted following actual Brexit decisions. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the employee resourcing literature, the paper adopts a discursive approach which examines how the UK’s decision to exit the European Union will affect HR practice. The paper draws comparison with the global recession since 2008, a similarly unprecedented development in its discussion of employee resourcing practices and draws parallels which may help to inform the future of HR practices in the UK, because of Brexit. Findings: This paper offers a set of propositions; the flow of talent into the UK may become more restricted and reinvigorate the “war for talent” that followed the effects of the global financial crisis on the UK. To attract and retain workers in relatively lower-skilled roles, employers may be faced with a need to re-skill such roles and adopt more flexible working arrangements. Finally, to meet skilled employment requirements, removal of restrictions to recruit from within the European Economic Area may trigger increased global migration of skilled workers. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the discussions regarding the implications of Brexit for HR practice by offering propositions to shape future research agendas

Contextualizing privilege and disadvantage: lessons from women expatriates in the Middle East

This article explores how the simultaneity of privilege and disadvantage shapes the experiences of women expatriates in the Middle East. The article problematizes the simultaneity of being an elite group (e.g. expatriates) and a disadvantaged group (e.g. women) within the context of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Drawing on the literature about women and work expatriation, the article analyses the narratives of women expatriates to highlight the complexity and multidimensionality of their experiences, positioning the discussion within the framework of gendered institutions. The article concludes that privilege and disadvantage are inseparable to the way the experiences of women expatriates unfold in the Middle East, and that institutional settings articulate this inseparability in order to regulate and help to maintain the gender social order. The article contributes a nuanced understanding of the experiences of women expatriates, challenging dominant views that present this group as generally privileged by virtue of their skilled and mobile status

Writing differently: Finding beauty in the broken

This article presents our “multi-vocal memory work” of collaborative researching and writing experiences as women academics in UK Business Schools. Set against the backdrop of the broken neoliberal academy, we use Daoism as an analytical lens to identify two emergent themes: 1) emotional contradictions and 2) institutional and social structures: micro-creative and collective change. Examining ourselves and the academy as broken, we learn to find beauty in the flaws as they signify healing. Thus, sharing our emotions and vulnerability through collective research and writing enables us to “put ourselves back together.” Methodologically, we draw on memory work to explore different ways of researching and writing. We argue that there is emergent hope in identifying and raising the profile of growing spaces within the academy for alternative forms of writing

The lives of early career researchers

No abstract available