This Research Topic is the third volume of “New Professionalism and the Future of Work: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Transformations in Business–Health Relationships.”

Around the world, the nature and meaning of work continue to evolve under the influence of structural, technological, economic, and social transformations. Aligned with the International Labour Organization’s focus on work and society, decent jobs for all, the organization of work and production, and the governance of work, this Topic examines how these shifts affect job quality, professional practice, and worker health and productivity—especially in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and among the self-employed.

This Research Topic aims to foreground practical organizational questions central to the field of organizational psychology: how work is organized, governed, and experienced; how professional roles and standards change; and how employment forms, skills, and working conditions shape health, safety, and performance. Technology—including digitalization, automation, robotics, and AI—features as one driver among many (alongside demographic change, globalization, new business models, and policy/regulatory developments), with particular attention to its implications for work design, occupational safety and health (OSH), and decent work. We focus on implementation, governance, and job quality rather than the detailed affective/behavioral dynamics of human–technology teaming.

We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to:

• Work organization and redesign in SMEs and professional services (e.g., role boundaries, workflow integration, collaboration, job crafting).
• Employment forms and labour markets: non-standard, temporary, platform-mediated, informal and precarious work; implications for inclusion, equity, and decent work.
• Working time, detachment, and recovery: mobile and remote work, flexible schedules, always-on connectivity; impacts on health, safety, and performance.
• Occupational safety and health: psychosocial risks, workload and fatigue, ergonomics, and prevention strategies in changing work environments.
• Governance of work: participation, worker voice, organizational justice, transparency and accountability (including in data-driven or algorithmically managed settings).
• Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship: conditions for sustainable venture creation and growth; why many startups fail; social entrepreneurship and new forms of entrepreneurship in smart cities.
• Skills and professionalism: upskilling/reskilling, supervisory capability, evolving professional standards, credentialing, and ethics.
• Economic development and job quality: SME ecosystems, local/sectoral development, and policy frameworks that support decent work.
• Human–Technology Interaction as a workplace system issue: implementation, adoption, and evaluation of digital tools, robotics, and AI within broader work design and OSH considerations.
• Measurement and responsible analytics at work: job quality indicators, safety and health metrics, and privacy-respecting use of workplace data.

Methodologies
• We welcome qualitative and quantitative studies, mixed methods, longitudinal, quasi-experimental, field experiments, and implementation studies. Rigorous cross-sectional studies addressing common method bias, as well as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, are also encouraged.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

New Professionalism and the Future of Work: AI, Human–Technology Interaction, and Transformations in Business–Health Relationships - Volume III