Well-being-oriented HRM configurations: diffusion, contingencies and outcomes
ISSN: 2049-3983
Article publication date: 14 May 2020
Issue publication date: 29 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
While current human resource management (HRM) research on the relationship between HRM and employee well-being has focused on performance-oriented HRM (e.g. high-performance work practices), scholars have called to broaden the perspective and to explore HRM practices that are indeed well-being-oriented. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the empirical diffusion of well-being-oriented HRM configurations, the conditions in which these are used, and their associations with health, happiness and relational well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
Analyses are based on a probabilistic subsample of 1,364 employees in Germany. Employee data are used, since individual employees' perceptions of HRM practices are crucial for understanding the effects of HRM on employee well-being. Configurations of well-being-oriented HRM practices are identified using latent class analysis.
Findings
Findings show that (1) employees experience diverse configurations of well-being-oriented HRM practices, which differ in their investment levels and the specific practices used; (2) these configurations are contingent on organizational-level and individual-level characteristics and (3) these configurations have diverse associations with different well-being dimensions. Importantly, configurations characterized by higher investments are not always associated with higher well-being, and the highest well-being is associated with a configuration based on high investment in well-being-oriented HRM focused on support from supervisors.
Originality/value
This exploratory paper is the first to analyze configurations of well-being-oriented HRM practices. By focusing on well-being-oriented HRM it complements previous research which usually addresses how HRM systems designed to enhance performance affect employee well-being.
Keywords
Citation
Hauff, S., Guerci, M. and Gilardi, S. (2020), "Well-being-oriented HRM configurations: diffusion, contingencies and outcomes", Evidence-based HRM, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 253-271. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-09-2019-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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