Work, profit and dignity: Towards an integrative HRM paradigm

Purpose. The main purpose of this article is to present two opposing paradigms of management – economic and humanistic – and to indicate the sources and consequences of their dissimilarities. Methodology. This article is conceptual in nature. It is based on a literature review. During the research, a comparative analysis was carried out to sort out the differences in the definitions of labour in economics and sociology. Findings. Economics and sociology have different understanding of labour. This difference is significant and gives birth to two opposing paradigms of HRM management. The dominant paradigm is the economic one, which does not take into account the humanistic nature of man. Therefore, an integrative model of management, including social theory of labour, is needed. Research limitation and directions for future research. The article presents work in its historical aspect. It does not show how the pandemic contributes to the concept of work and changes it. Investigating whether remote work is the next step in the evolution of the concept of work might indicate the direction of future research. Practical implications. The integrative approach ensures employees the achievement of material (financial) well-being and social well-being (social relations based on respect for dignity). This could prevent negative organizational behaviour such as mobbing or work-related phenomena such as occupational burnouts. Originality/value. The paper is a conceptual article investigating how the notions of labour in economics and sociology influence the economic and humanistic paradigm of management. It also makes an original contribution regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HRM methods. Keywords: labour, economic/non-economic action, economic/humanistic HRM