Reimagining HRM for Industry 5.0: A Human–Tech Collaboration Approach

As Industry 4.0 technologies—artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and analytics—
reach maturity, organizations are entering a
new phase: Industry 5.0, characterized by a
renewed focus on human-centricn collaboration with technology. While Industry 4.0 emphasized automation and
efficiency, Industry 5.0 emphasizes cocreation, empathy, and sustainability, seeking to harmonize human creativity
with machine intelligence. This chapter explores how Human
Resource Management (HRM) must evolve
to thrive in this new paradigm. It integrates
insights from Human–Computer
Interaction (Norman, 1993), SocioTechnical Systems Theory (Trist & Emery, 1951), Servant Leadership Theory
(Greenleaf, 1977), and Sustainable HRM
frameworks to develop a comprehensive
model of human–tech synergy. The
proposed Human–Tech Collaboration
Model for HRM (HTC-HRM)
conceptualizes how organizations can
design work systems that leverage
technology to augment, not replace, human
potential.
Through an interdisciplinary lens, the
chapter examines how HRM must
transform its roles—from managing
employees to orchestrating collaborative
ecosystems that balance automation with
ethics, performance with purpose, and
innovation with inclusion. It argues that the
future of HRM in Industry 5.0 depends on
cultivating digital empathy, ethical
intelligence, and adaptive learning cultures.
Keywords: Industry 5.0, Human–
Technology Collaboration, Digital
Empathy, Sustainable HRM, HumanCentric Design, Augmentation, CoCreation