Idiosyncratic Deals at Work

“This cutting edge review of latest research on i-deals includes contributions from a wide range of noted scholars across the globe. A must read for anyone interested in research and evidence-based practice on individualized work arrangements.”

– Dr. Eva Demerouti, Professor of Human Resource Management, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

Idiosyncratic deals (I-deals) are individualized work agreements negotiated between employee and employer. Examples include working from home, shortened work days and/or weeks, and taking on responsibilities not enumerated in the job description. I-deals fulfil unique employee needs that lay outside the employer’s standard offerings, and engender a wide range of positive outcomes for both parties, such as employee well-being, work-life balance, career development, and enhanced job performance and citizenship behaviors. I-deals have the potential to be a strategic HR device for addressing the changing needs and preferences of employees, employers, and the wider society in the post-pandemic era.

This new collection provides a holistic, integrated and interdisciplinary overview of i-deals from leading scholars in the area. In addressing topics such as the sociological impact of i-deals, issues of power, privilege and fairness, and HR differentiation, this volume examines i-deals at the individual, team, organizational, and societal levels. The book will be useful to scholars and practitioners alike by offering a nuanced understanding of i-deals in workgroup settings, extending research on this relevant topic, and offering managerial prescriptions for institutionalizing i-deals as a global strategic human resource management device.

Smriti Anand is Associate Professor of Management at Illinois Institute of Technology’s Stuart School of Business in Chicago, USA.

Yasin Rofcanin is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Human Resources Management at University of Bath School of Management, UK.