Direct effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the global workforce, presenting unprecedented challenges to managers and practitioners of strategic human resource management. Pandemic-influenced changes in the employment relationship highlighting the need for adaptation in order to facilitate a return to pre-pandemic conditions. Crises such as this can have a detrimental effect on employees’ psychological contract, which in turn can hinder the organization’s ability to thrive in the post-COVID-19 era and impede the development of high commitment levels in the aftermath of the crisis. Emotional intelligence plays an increasingly vital role in effectively navigating the crisis and providing support to employees, while also facilitating the reconstruction of the psychological contract. Therefore, this study aims to explain the role of emotional intelligence of strategic human resource management practitioners on affective organizational commitment and the possible mediating effect of the psychological contract in that relationship. A quantitative study took place in February 2023 among 286 HR directors, HR managers, and HR officers in higher education institutions in Georgia. Partial Least Squares for Structural Equation Modelling was applied for data analysis. The results revealed that the emotional intelligence of strategic human resource management practitioners has a positive impact on the psychological contract and the affective organizational commitment. This study supports the idea that emotional intelligence can transform strategic human resource management practitioners into individuals who engage in people-orientated activities. These activities aim to effectively acquire, utilize, and retain employees within an organization. The study also suggests that emotional intelligence can provide solutions to maintain high employee commitment during times of crisis and in the aftermath of unprecedented situations.新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）已对全球劳动力造成显著冲击，为战略人力资源管理（strategic human resource management）的从业者与管理者带来了前所未有的挑战。疫情引发的雇佣关系变革凸显了适应调整的必要性，以助力恢复至疫情前的运营状态。此类危机将对员工的心理契约（psychological contract）产生负面影响，进而阻碍组织在后新冠疫情时代实现蓬勃发展，并妨碍危机后高组织承诺水平的塑造。情商（emotional intelligence）在有效应对危机、为员工提供支持的过程中发挥着愈发关键的作用，同时也有助于推动心理契约的重构。因此，本研究旨在阐释战略人力资源管理从业者的情商对情感组织承诺（affective organizational commitment）的作用机制，以及心理契约在二者关系中可能存在的中介效应。本研究于2023年2月开展，调研对象为格鲁吉亚高等教育机构的286名人力资源总监、人力资源经理及人力资源专员。本研究采用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, PLS-SEM）进行数据分析。研究结果显示，战略人力资源管理从业者的情商对心理契约与情感组织承诺均具有正向影响。本研究证实，情商可助力战略人力资源管理从业者转型为投身以员工为中心的实践活动的群体，此类活动旨在帮助组织高效招聘、配置与留存员工。本研究同时表明，情商可为危机时期及极端事件后的高员工承诺维持提供可行解决方案。