Engaging Minds and Greening Workspaces: Investigating the Mediating Role of Employee Engagement in Strengthening the Relationship Between Green HRM Practices and Organizational Sustainability Outcomes

Abstract

The paper concerns itself with the mediatory effect of employee engagement on the connection between Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices and the results of organizational sustainability. The research relies on the results of the data collected among 412 employees in various industries to use structural equation modeling to test the planned relationships. As the results conclude, GHRM practices have significant direct and indirect effects on the outcomes of organizational sustainability because employees increase their engagement. The positive effect of the GHRM practices was also found higher when there is a high rate of employee engagement which indicates that the engaged employee serves as a driver in the implementation and maintenance of environmental initiatives in the organization. Moreover, sector-level analyses provided evidence of differences in strength of these relationships, arguing the case to be made on context sensitive HR strategies. The research provides theoretical contribution by proving the importance of employee engagement as an essential mediator, which supports Social Exchange Theory and triple bottom line approach. In practice, findings point to the need of organizations to combine green HR programs with initiatives that ensure effective employee loyalty and involvement. The study gives practical solutions that an HR manager should take in aspects of performance appraisals, green training and rewards that consider environmental-friendly conducts. The work contributes to the discussion on sustainable organization operations and gives a base to future studies of cross-cultural and technological aspects of GHRM.

Keywords: Employee engagement,  Mediating role, Organizational sustainability, Sector analysis, Social exchange theory, Structural equation modeling,