Special Issue "The Role of Human Resource Management and Employee Relations in Developing Sustainable Workplaces"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Peter Holland
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Swinburne Business School, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, 3122, Australia
Interests: employee voice and silence; workplace monitoring and surveillance and workplace well-being and climate
Dr. Renee Paulet
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Federation Business School, Federation University, Churchill 3842, Australia
Interests: sustainable HRM; green HRM; staffing organisations; recruitment; selection; peer review of teaching; peer review of online teaching

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is arguably the most significant challenge facing the workplace of the 21st century. Whilst many acknowledge and understand this, little is understood or discussed about the changes required to make sustainability a central aspect of work and the workplace. For example, how is the workforce engaged in sustainability changes, what type of voice mechanism will be developed to communicate information and change, how will training and development in the field of sustainability be undertaken and by whom? These are just some of the issues and examples which highlight the increasing importance of sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) and sustainable Employee Relations (ER). These key areas of workplace management have the potential to facilitate organisational development of principles, policies, and practices for the challenges of workplace sustainability in the 21st century.

Kramar (2014) has argued that sustainable HRM, signifies a new approach to managing people, by identifying broader purposes for HRM, through its recognition of the complexities of workplace dynamics. To this we would add the role of employee relations through concepts such as voice and a role for external bodies such as trade unions. The scope of this special issue therefore is to explore the role of HRM and ER policies and practices, identifying best practice as well as the rhetoric in the implementation of sustainable work practices. Both empirical and theorectical papers are welcome.  Topic areas of potential relevance to this special issue include but are not limited to:

  • Sustainable HRM and/or ER practices
  • Sustainable HRM and/or ER strategy
  • Relationships between Sustainable HRM and ER
  • The impact of COVID-19 on sustainable work practices and/or sustainable HRM and ER
  • The quality of sustainable work patterns and practices
  • Impact of sustainable HRM/and or ER on organisation and/or employee performance
  • Sustainable work and/or sustainable jobs in the 21st century
  • Sustainability and employee voice
  • The future of sustainable HRM and ER

This special issue will add to the emerging field of sustainable HRM and ER as well as our knowledge of work arrangements for the development of effective sustainable workplace principles and policies. These findings will contribute to the implementation and assessment of effective sustainable work practices, to serve as a basis of future research into sustainable HRM.

Prof. Dr. Peter Holland
Dr. Renee Paulet
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable HRM
  • sustainable ER
  • sustainable workplace
  • human resource management
  • human resource development
  • employee relations

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Article
Supervisory Career Support and Workplace Wellbeing in Chinese Healthcare Workers: The Mediating Role of Career Commitment and the Moderating Role of Future Work Self-Salience
Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5572; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105572 - 17 May 2021
Viewed by 417
Abstract
In the context of the sustainability goals of organizations, there is a dilemma regarding enhancing healthcare workers’ career commitment and wellbeing, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. This study focuses on the underlying mechanism in the relationship between supervisory career support and employee wellbeing. [...] Read more.
In the context of the sustainability goals of organizations, there is a dilemma regarding enhancing healthcare workers’ career commitment and wellbeing, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. This study focuses on the underlying mechanism in the relationship between supervisory career support and employee wellbeing. Drawing upon the career motivation perspective, we investigate the mediating role of career commitment and moderating effect of future work self-salience (FWSS) in this relationship. Two-wave data were collected from a sample of 213 full-time healthcare workers from three public hospitals located in Southern China. Results in this study revealed that supervisory career support influences career commitment in health workers, which in turn enhances their wellbeing at the workplace. Moreover, the effect of supervisory career support on career commitment was found to be stronger for individuals with low FWSS compared to those with high FWSS. These findings also enlighten us on how to enhance employees’ career commitment and workplace wellbeing. Full article
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Concept Paper
Employee Voice: The Missing Factor in Sustainable HRM?
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9732; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179732 (registering DOI) - 30 Aug 2021
Viewed by 152
Abstract
Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM), has the potential to facilitate organisations development of principles, policies and practices for the challenges of the 21st century. However, to do this we argue a fundamental element in this process has yet to be fully addressed and [...] Read more.
Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM), has the potential to facilitate organisations development of principles, policies and practices for the challenges of the 21st century. However, to do this we argue a fundamental element in this process has yet to be fully addressed and incorporated into the theory and practice of sustainable HRM; this is employee voice. Additionally, the actual and potential role of trade unions in facilitating employee voice is yet to be conceptualised within sustainable HRM literature. We argue that the development of effective employee voice mechanisms is vital in the implementation and maintenance of sustainable HRM. In this conceptual paper, we outline the nature of the voice architecture, the impact of the employment relationship on voice mechanisms, how it can be effectively measured, and propose a framework for further exploring these concepts. These key factors we identify as critical in implementing and assessing the effectiveness of the relationship between employee voice and sustainable HRM, to potentially serve as a basis of future research into sustainable HRM. Full article
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