This critical reflective paper draws upon my reading, studying and teaching employment relations (ER) and human resource management (HRM) over the years, from a sociological perspective. I make a compelling case for ER as a research activity, an organisational habit and a way of reflexive thinking. There is a false perception that ER is outdated. Indifferent to fads, ER endeavours to see clearly and speak the truth fearlessly and excavate the challenges and possibilities of the socio-economic exchange within any employment relationship. ER’s real strength is its granular holistic, multi-layered understanding of the totality of the wage-effort bargain. It has always been interdisciplinary because it draws from a vast canvas of sociology, economics, political economy and even psychology. Tracing its trajectory, I map the context in which ER evolved from Fordism to Post-Fordism, how HRM tried to take its place, and why it cannot do what ER does. It is only with this critical sceptical inquisitive spirit of ER that an effective emotionally intelligent transparent HR-lifecycle with a well-thought-out employee voice mechanism can craft better workplaces.
ER in India speak for gig workers and other casualised employment and intervenes urgently on their behalf by bringing their concerns to academic discussion and advocating change. In conjunction with critical management studies, the sociology of work and ER in India must go to the nub of inequality. It must reach out to broader constituencies to mitigate workplace inequalities in different situational and longitudinal work contexts.
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