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About the Author: Fida Afiouni is Professor of HRM at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon and currently serves as Associate Provost. You can check her work on this page and contact her at her email address.

“Everyone wants to make a difference, especially those who stayed. Our work became our resistance, our way of helping our country survive.” (Syrian employee)

How do organizations continue to function—and even innovate—when faced with extreme disruption? Our recent article in the Human Resource Management Journal sheds light on this question by examining the lived experiences of HR professionals and employees navigating the complexities of work during the Syrian civil war. Through the voices of 28 HR managers and employees, we explored how relational HR practices supported not only organizational continuity but also career sustainability and human development.

Turning Challenge into Contribution

While the backdrop of our study was undeniably challenging, what emerged were powerful examples of courage, care, and creativity. HR departments found themselves at the heart of organizational life, playing roles far beyond administrative coordination. Instead, they became stewards of connection and continuity, safeguarding the wellbeing of employees while helping rebuild capabilities.

Relationality at the Core of Resilience

At the center of our analysis is the relationality imperative—the notion that organizational resilience, especially in extreme contexts, depends fundamentally on relational forms of HRM. Drawing on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we conceptualized how organizations actively engage in preserving three critical types of capital: psychological, human, and physical.

HR departments became agents of resource conservation by investing in employees’ psychological wellbeing, facilitating human capital regeneration through learning and development, and addressing physical and material needs to support employees’ continued engagement. As one manager put it, “If employees were going through a certain situation, we’d stand next to them… doing everything possible to help.” These practices nurtured career continuity and embedded a sense of purpose within the workforce.

Technology as Enabler of Growth and Learning

Another encouraging finding was the way organizations leveraged technology to overcome resource constraints. Informed by the Conservation of Resources framework, we viewed digitalization as a collateral pathway—a novel route through which organizations conserved and rebuilt resources. HR leaders turned to online training, virtual recruitment, and digital collaboration tools to maintain momentum. These adaptive strategies demonstrate that even in constrained settings, innovation is possible—and often accelerated by necessity.

Crisis as a Catalyst for Strategic HRM

Our concept of the strategification of HRM captures the emergent shift in how HR departments were perceived and mobilized. In response to the crisis, HR evolved from a primarily administrative function to a core strategic actor. This was not a planned strategic pivot, but an adaptive necessity driven by contextual pressures. HR became integral to crisis management, employee retention, and business continuity—highlighting its latent strategic potential in times of uncertainty.

Relevance for Career Scholarship

For career scholars, our study offers both theoretical and empirical contributions. First, it expands the application of Conservation of Resources theory to collective and organizational levels, showing how career sustainability is shaped by systemic efforts to protect and regenerate resources. Second, it positions relational HRM as a central mechanism through which careers can be safeguarded and reimagined, even under duress.

Careers do not unfold in isolation. They are embedded in webs of relational and organizational dynamics. Our findings call for greater attention to the structural and interpersonal conditions that support career continuity and meaning-making during periods of disruption.

Looking Ahead

Rather than offering a grim tale of survival, our study highlights the possibilities for solidarity, growth, and strategic transformation during crisis. It amplifies voices from a region often underrepresented in mainstream research and invites scholars to explore how context, care, and creativity interact to shape resilient career systems.

In doing so, we hope to contribute to a richer, more inclusive conversation on how HRM can enable not just organizational endurance, but flourishing—both for institutions and the people within them.

“Our work became our resistance, our way of helping our country survive.” (Syrian employee)

This sentiment captures the spirit of what HRM can achieve when it centers human connection as a core strategic value.

Reference

Daouk-Öyry, L., Afiouni, F., Ghazzawi, R. & Alhaffar, H. (2025). The role of HRM in building resilience: The relationality imperative in times of war. Human Resource Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12597