20841: Everyone Needs HRM Practices to Experience Well-Being at Work, But Some Gain From It More

In recent years, due to the inconclusiveness of research on the role of strategic HR management in promoting employees’ well-being, scholars have shifted their focus toward a group of practices potentially beneficial for employee well-being, referred to as well-being-oriented HRM (WBHRM). Several independent studies have confirmed the effectiveness of these practices at the individual employee level. However, there is a noticeable paucity of comparative and cross-cultural studies testing socio-economic, institutional, and job-related factors that may moderate the relationship between WBHRM and employee well-being. Therefore, this study aims to contribute by examining, in an international context, how a WBHRM approach might support employee well-being and whether a country’s socio-economic, institutional, and job-related factors impact this relationship. The multilevel analyses in 53 countries reveal that WBHRM positively contributes to dimensions of employee well-being. While the moderating effects of related national-level socio-economic, institutional, and job-related factors were variable, the results suggest that tangible well-being benefits can accrue from aligning national and organizational value structures, policies and economics development. In particular, the results showed that countries with higher levels of development (measured by the Human Development Index) and better working conditions (measured by the Job Quality Index) have a stronger impact on employee well-being than countries with lower levels of development and poorer working conditions. However, institutional factors (Democracy Index and Fundamental Labor Rights) were not found to moderate the tested relationships.

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