Digital Era Challenges: Emerging Challenges and Transformations in Human Resource Employment and Management
A special issue of Merits (ISSN 2673-8104).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2026 | Viewed by 119
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapid digital transformation of organizations—driven by artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics, and constant digital connectivity—is reshaping human resource management in significant ways. Digital tools now play a central role in recruitment, performance evaluation, learning, and daily communication, offering improved efficiency and more informed decision‑making. However, these advancements also bring important challenges. Employees increasingly experience technostress, digital overload, and uncertainty as technology evolves quickly. The growing use of algorithmic systems raises concerns about fairness, transparency, and potential bias in HR decisions. In addition, expanded digital monitoring and remote work platforms can blur the boundaries between professional and personal life, affecting wellbeing and trust within organizations. Job restructuring and skill gaps linked to automation further highlight the need for continuous learning and adaptation. Understanding these emerging issues is essential for promoting equity, protecting employee wellbeing, and ensuring ethical and responsible governance in the digital workplace.
This Special Issue of Merits, “Digital Era Challenges: Emerging Challenges and Transformations in Human Resource Employment and Management”, invites contributions that critically examine how digital technologies are reshaping the world of work across industries and regions. We welcome empirical and theoretical research addressing the drivers, consequences, and governance of digital transformation in HRM, including topics such as AI‑enabled recruitment and performance management, algorithmic fairness, digital surveillance, technostress, hybrid and platform‑based work, skill gaps and workforce transitions, digital inclusion, workplace wellbeing, and the ethical use of people analytics. Studies focusing on legal, organizational, cultural, and global dimensions of digitalization—along with implications for vulnerable groups, equitable access, and sustainable human capital development—are especially encouraged.
Themes
- AI-enabled recruitment, selection, and performance evaluation;
- People analytics, predictive modeling, and algorithmic governance;
- Technostress, cognitive overload, and digital fatigue;
- Work–life balance and the impact of remote/hybrid work;
- Digital surveillance, privacy, and trust in organizations;
- Algorithmic bias and fairness in HR decision-making;
- Leadership and governance in digitally transformed contexts;
- Digital inequality, accessibility, and workforce vulnerabilities;
- Future of work, reskilling, and human capital development.
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors have to submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Please send the manuscript to the Guest Editor or to the Managing Editor Sandee Pan (sandee.pan@mdpi.com) of Merits. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Margareta Ilie
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Merits is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- digital transformation
- human resource management
- technostress and digital wellbeing
- people analytics
- algorithmic HR and ethics
- digital surveillance
- hybrid and flexible work
- equity and digital inclusion
- future of work
- organizational governance
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