HRM practices and managerial evaluation in the future of work: evidence from non-standard employment

Purpose Freelancers have emerged as an increasingly vital segment of China's talent pool. The role of organizational practices in shaping managerial acceptance of freelancers remains insufficiently understood. To address this gap, the study develops two new measurement scales for freelancers including HRM practices and managerial acceptance of freelancers that capture managers’ willingness to recommend freelancers and their views on the freelance trend. Grounded in organizational support theory (OST), the study addresses the lack of theoretical and empirical work on how HRM practices influence managerial acceptance of freelancers. This study explored a question overlooked in existing HRM research focused on traditional employees. Design/methodology/approach We employed paired-match approach to collect data from 489 respondents. Smart PLS-SEM was used to test the CB-SEM mediation model, which examines how freelancers’ attitudes and behaviors translate supportive HRM practices into positive managerial acceptance of freelancers. Findings The results show that freelancers’ performance, work satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior significantly mediate the relationship between HRM practices and managerial acceptance of freelancers. Specifically, supportive HRM practices shape managerial acceptance through freelancers’ performance, satisfaction and behavioral outcomes. In contrast, knowledge transfer and integration and organizational commitment do not significantly mediate this relationship, suggesting that managers place greater emphasis on observable work outcomes than on relational factors when evaluating freelancers. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that managers evaluate freelancers primarily through observable work outcomes rather than traditional relational indicators. Organizations can enhance managerial acceptance of freelancers by implementing HRM practices that improve performance, work satisfaction and reduced counterproductive work behavior. Originality/value This study extends OST to freelance work arrangements, introducing two validated measures tailored to knowledge-based freelancers, and demonstrates that managers evaluate freelancers differently from traditional employees. The findings contribute to HRM research on non-standard employment and provide practical guidance for managing freelance talent.