Algorithmic Management and Employee Relations in The Digital Workplace: Examining The Effects On Autonomy, Fairness and Employee Commitment

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of organisations has transformed the way work is organised, supervised and evaluated. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and automated decision-making systems are increasingly embedded in organisational processes, allowing employers to use digital technologies to allocate tasks, monitor performance, evaluate workers, determine schedules and support human resource decisions. This development has given rise to algorithmic management, broadly understood as the use of algorithmic systems to organise, coordinate, supervise and evaluate work. Unlike traditional management, where employees interact primarily with human supervisors, algorithmic management increasingly places software systems between workers and managerial authority, thereby changing the nature of everyday employment relationships (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2024; Cameron et al., 2024). The expansion of these practices across platform work and conventional organisations therefore represents more than a technological development; it signals a significant transformation in how managerial control and employee relations are exercised.