The New Age Employee: An Exploration of Changing Employee-Organization Relations

Abstract

This article examines the employee-organization relationship in the current industrial landscape. “New age employees” have substantially different expectations from organizations—stemming from their own articulateness about their career needs as well as mistrust of organizational loyalty in the aftermath of the recent waves of organizational downsizing. The changing employee-organization relationship is explored through the theoretical lens of organizational commitment; a series of propositions about the commitment levels of new age employees is advanced; and a framework to assist HR managers in their attempts to recruit, train and retain the new age employee is offered. The article concludes with an explanation of the implications of this framework on human resource management in the public sector.