Employee perceptions of HRM and well-being in nonprofit organizations: unpacking the unintended

Abstract

Adopting a process-based HRM lens, this study addresses how nonprofit workers perceive their HR practices and the ways in which these perceptions of HRM impact their well-being. Drawing on a multiple case study of eight social services NPOs in the UK, the impact of the employment relationship on the psychological, social and physical dimensions of well-being is examined in this climate of austerity. The findings highlight the increasing precariousness of this employment relationship alongside relatively weak HR systems characterized by low consistency and consensus, leading to variation in the interpretation and application of HR practices at the level of line managers and the front line. Moreover, the analysis shows how these divergent perceptions among HR system features manifest themselves in unintended consequences. By examining employee perceptions of HR practices, this study contributes to ongoing debates on why nonprofit employees perceive HRM in unintended ways and why HR practices may fail to bring about their intended effects.