The interplay among employee resilience, sustainable HRM and work engagement

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Given the unpredictable and turbulent times, the concept of employee resilience is gaining increased recognition within numerous organisations, as resilient employees excel in adapting to continually altering situations and recovering more quickly. Additionally, they demonstrate higher work engagement. Since employee resilience, as a personal resource, can be developed, the question is about the ways through which it can be enhanced. Similarly, when arguing that engaged employees are able to perform better, the next question pertains to the antecedents of work engagement. The previous literature provided support that human resource management (HRM) plays an important role in fostering employee resilience and work engagement. However, the dimension of sustainability in people management has been somehow neglected. The paper tries to close the gap and, drawing on the JD-R model, explores the relationship among three constructs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the paper is to reveal the interplay among employee resilience, sustainable HRM and work engagement. METHODS: Quantitative study. The data were collected using a survey. RESULTS: The core results revealed a positive link between sustainable HRM and work engagement. Additionally, employee resilience serves as a mediator. CONCLUSIONS: As an underlying mechanism, employee resilience influences the relationship between HRM practices and work engagement.