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Sustainability and HRM: A Model and Suggestions for Future Research

  • Chapter
The Future of Employment Relations

Abstract

Sustainability is on the agenda of many organizations worldwide and has recently raised interest from human resources management (HRM).* Climate change, water shortages, the problem that the world population consumes more resources per year than are produced, education, demographic developments, and increasing strains from business activities on employees has given reason to criticize widespread assumptions about how organizations can be managed in the long term (for example, Bansal, 2005). Focusing on the market model which is successful for short-term economic success fails with regard to long-term effects on the environment and the wider system (Dunphy and Griffith, 1998). One reason is an over-occupation with efficient exploitation of natural, social, and human resources in organizations (see Docherty et al., 2008; Wilkinson, 2005) coupled with a lack of effort to sustain the companies’ resource base as long as this is not regarded as economically rational (Ehnert, 2009a).

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12 Sustainability and HRM: A Model and Suggestions for Future Research

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Authors
  1. Ina Ehnert
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith University, Australia

    Adrian Wilkinson  & Keith Townsend  & 

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© 2011 Ina Ehnert

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Ehnert, I. (2011). Sustainability and HRM: A Model and Suggestions for Future Research. In: Wilkinson, A., Townsend, K. (eds) The Future of Employment Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230349421_12

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