Human Relations seeks high quality research papers that extend our knowledge of social relationships at work and organizational forms, practices, and processes that affect the nature, structure, and conditions of work and work organizations. The ‘in and around work’ part of the journal’s aim and, more generally, research that seeks to understand working lives for their betterment is an important part of the scope of Human Relations.
Human Relations welcomes manuscripts that seek to cross disciplinary boundaries to develop new perspectives and insights into social relationships and relationships between people and organizations. Human Relations encourages research that relates social theory to social practice and translates knowledge about Human Relations into prospects for social action and policy-making that aims to improve working lives.
Below is a brief description of the types of manuscripts we seek.
Original Articles (Empirical or Conceptual)
Articles must advance knowledge and make a strong theoretical and/or empirical contribution to the literature on work relationships and organizational work processes. Papers that do not directly address these processes are unlikely to be suitable for Human Relations. We expect original articles to be clearly grounded and positioned within (or against) relevant extant literature on the phenomenon/idea of interest.
We particularly welcome articles that make innovative and/or provocative contributions to these literatures. We accept both quantitative and qualitative approaches within the journal. Conceptual papers are expected to make a substantive theoretical contribution to the domain of interest. By this we mean that the paper must be able to show how it is meaningfully advancing or challenging extant scholarly conversations within the domain.
Critical Reviews
We publish critical reviews in a dedicated special issue of the journal each year. The call for proposals is made annually (see CFP on our website).
Critical reviews advance a field through new theory, new methods, a novel synthesis of extant evidence, or a combination of two or three of these elements. Reviews that identify new research questions and that make links between management and organizations and the wider social sciences are particularly welcome. Surveys or overviews of a field are unlikely to meet these criteria.
Meta Analyses
A meta-analysis systematically integrates findings from multiple independent studies addressing a common research question, transcending individual study limitations to generate precise, evidence-based conclusions. Beyond synthesis, meta-analysis critically identifies gaps in the literature by exposing publication bias, underrepresented populations, or methodological inconsistencies, while subgroup analyses highlight how variables moderate effect sizes. This process not only consolidates existing knowledge but also charts future research directions.
Critical Essays
Critical essays are submissions in which the writer’s personal views and reflections on a topic are integral to arguments that are provocative and perhaps polemical, but that are also revealing, generative and compelling. Critical essays tend to address contemporary scholarly issues and debates within the journal’s scope. They are more controversial than conventional papers or reviews and can be shorter. They argue a point of view but must meet standards of academic rigour.
Guidance
For more detailed guidance on Review Essays, Meta Analyses and Critical essays, please refer to
Ogbonnaya, C., & Brown, A. D. (2023). Editorial: Crafting review and essay articles for Human Relations. Human Relations, 76(3), 365–394. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267221148440
Word limit
The word limit for all manuscripts is 13000 words including abstract, keywords and references but not including Tables and Figures.
