Caring for Our Healthcare Workers: Advancing Human Resource Management Research in Healthcare Contexts

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this special issue introduction paper, we seek to advance HRM scholarship by examining how HRM can support the health and wellbeing of the healthcare workforce amid profound economic, socio‐cultural and technological change affecting healthcare systems globally. First, we analyse systemic challenges facing the global healthcare sector and their implications for healthcare workers' health and wellbeing. Second, in response, we synthesise insights from contemporary HRM literature on innovative organisational responses to sustain health and wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers. Third, we outline a future research agenda on workforce health and wellbeing in healthcare contexts. We argue for more inclusive, multi‐stakeholder approaches to wellbeing‐orientated HRM; greater attention to lived experience in the design and delivery of support practices; enhanced training and development for line managers; and the strategic use of AI and digital technologies to reduce workload pressures and strengthen support for frontline staff. When combined, these approaches offer a more sustainable pathway to improving healthcare workers' health and wellbeing.