How to Improve Employee Health and Well-Being at Work: The Role of HR Practices

Abstract

Thus far, the empirical evidence about the effects of HR practices on employee outcomes shows that while HR practices have a positive effect on employee well-being, HR practices also cause side effects in terms of reduced employee health. Despite the growing indications of these trade-offs between different aspects of employee well-being and health, we still have a limited understanding about how and why HR practices are beneficial or detrimental for employee health and well-being. Accordingly, the set of papers in this symposium aim to shed more light on (1) the differential impact of bundles of HR practices (i.e., skill-, motivation-, and opportunity- enhancing HR practices) on various indicators of employee health and well-being and (2) the processes through which HR practices affect different types of employee health and well-being. Collectively the papers suggest that (some) bundles of HR practices have positive effects on employee health and well-being, with some caveats for HRM systems that (in particular situations) also result in reduced employee health by signaling that increased work effort is expected. Are HRM Systems Good or Bad for Employee Well-being? A Meta-analysis of the Workers Verdict Presenter: Hoang Ho; BI Norwegian Business School Presenter: Bard Kuvaas; BI Norwegian Business School Building a Context for Meaningful Work: Exploring the Link between HRM and Positive Employee States Presenter: Jae Hyeung Kang; Oakland U. Presenter: Jake Messersmith; U. of Nebraska, Lincoln The Impact of HRM on the Development and Dynamics of Employee Outcomes: A 1-year Longitudinal Study Presenter: Felix Anker Klein - Of Psychology; Institute of Psychology, U. of Oslo Presenter: Sabine Raeder; U. of Oslo Daily Work Demands, Need for Recovery and Engagement: The Importance of HRM Practices Presenter: Karina Van De Voorde; Tilburg U. High-Performance Work System and Employee Burnout: A Two-Path Model Presenter: Jianmin Sun; Renmin U. of China Presenter: Yuan Li; Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Presenter: Lu Xing; Renmin U. of China