Introduction to Special Topic Forum: The Changing Nature of Work Relationships

Abstract

Relationships are fundamental to organizations and organizing. In this Special Topic Forum on the Changing Nature of Work Relationships, we describe important contextual shifts that have implications for work relationships: how they form and develop, what they look like, and what effects they may have. Throughout the articles the authors take an expansive look at work relationships—considering the many types at multiple levels—and examine how they impact individuals and organizations. Here we review important insights produced by the authors: the centrality of work relationships, their dynamic nature, the reciprocity inherent in them, and the ways work relationships are shaped by their context, including technology and organizational structures and processes.