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 wellbeing. 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 wellbeing 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 amongst 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 view HRM in unintended ways and why HR practices may fail to bring about their intended effects.

Developmental HRM, employee well‐being and performance: The moderating role of developing leadership

“…Moreover, there is considerable debate on the role of social well‐being (e.g., trust, social support, fairness) in the causal chain between HRM, health/happiness well‐being and performance. While some studies have considered it at the same level as the other two dimensions of well‐being (e.g., Kooij et al, ; Baluch, ), others consider it a linking pin between HRM and health/happiness well‐being (e.g., Gould‐Williams, ; Kroon et al, ) or even as a moderator explaining when HRM affects health/happiness well‐being (e.g., Alfes et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ). Hence, we would encourage future research to include all three dimensions, yet focus on teasing out the exact causal role of the three dimensions and/or their potential interplay.…”

“…Building on Grant et al . 's () model, HRM research typically considers one or more of three types of well‐being: happiness (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment), health (e.g., stress, exhaustion) and social (e.g., trust, social support) well‐being (e.g., Baluch, ; Heffernan and Dundon, ; Veld and Alfes, ). In their review, Van de Voorde et al .…”

Attribution theories in Human Resource Management research: a review and research agenda

“…Likewise, De Winne et al 2013concluded that different sub-dimensions had different relationships with key stakeholders' perceptions of the role of HR, as defined by Ulrich (1997). Baluch (2017) found that, across multiple case studies, distinctiveness was high, yet consensus and consistency were low, suggesting that a broad overarching measure of HRSS may hide these nuances.…”

Employee perceptions of HR practices: A critical review and future directions

“…In general, studies show that employee-perceived HR strength is associated with positive employee outcomes such as organizational commitment (Farndale & Kelliher, 2013), job satisfaction (Heffernan & Dundon, 2016), vigor (Li et al, 2011), well-being (Baluch, 2017), task performance (Redmond, 2013), creativity (Ehrnrooth & Bjorkman, 2012), organizational citizenship behavior (Frenkel, Restubog, & Bednall, 2012), HR effectiveness (De Winne, Delmotte, Gilbert, & Sels, 2013), and organizational performance (Pereira & Gomes, 2012) while being negatively related to turnover intentions (Li et al, 2011) and negative emotions (Frenkel, Li, et al, 2012).…”