Readings in HRM and Sustainability advances venues for applying the idea of sustainability to HR practices and processes, hence focusing on social and human sustainability of business organisations. The book wishes to encourage its readers to think beyond existing paradigmatic boundaries in HRM and to make sense of the meaning of sustainability for their particular contexts. It is what the title promises, a collection of ten individual chapters on the topic of HRM and sustainability. Chapter 1 introduces into the idea of using sustainability as a concept for HRM. Chapter 2 provides a human capital framework for strategic workforce planning and development. Chapters 3‐9 deal with particular HR practices i.e. HR development, performance, reward, social innovation at work, downsizing, and the inclusion of employee voice. The book ends with a chapter calling for the development of a new paradigm in HRM.
Before I describe the content of the readings, I would like to answer the question if the book is worth reading? Yes, it is worth reading, easily accessible in style and structure, clearly written and suitable for various audiences – although the book appears to address, in particular, practitioners and students – with short discussion questions at the end of each chapter. The style of the book makes a complex topic accessible to a larger audience.
In a very brief introduction, the editor sets the scene for explaining the importance of sustainability for HRM and grounds her argumentation in the increasing interest of organisations in sustainable development (WCED, 1987), global political initiatives on the topic and that the concept of sustainability has found its translation at the business level in terms of economic, social and ecological sustainability. The key question that the editor wishes the authors to deal with is “How do the principles of sustainability – in terms of maintaining, renewing or restoring a specific resource – apply to human resource management?” (p. 2). The objective of the book is to offer an “alternative view” on contemporary thinking in HRM and on how a more sustainable HRM could be developed i.e. an HRM with a special focus on human resource regeneration and renewal (p. 3). The editor is convinced that the concept of sustainability will continue to be of importance for the challenges lying ahead for all of us.
Following this introduction, chapter 2 by Jorgensen and Irmer proposes an integrated human capital management framework (p. 15) with the objective of achieving more systematic and strategic workforce planning, and thus, according to the authors, also better organisational sustainability.
In chapter 3, Inkson and Parker highlight the sustainability of individual career decisions and suggest that “eco‐careers” i.e. career choices for more sustainable positions will become more mainstream in the coming years and especially for the younger generation of the workforce. In order to maintain access to highly skilled and engaged talent, the authors assume that organisations need to design new jobs and career paths in alignment with changed employee values and a sustainability culture.
Chapter 4 by Browning and Delahaye propose a more flexible approach to HR development (HRD) in response to the increasing challenge of uncertainty many organisations face. For better organisational sustainability, the authors assert that a shift in responsibilities for HRD to line management is needed, supported by activities such as performance appraisal, career management and work integrated learning.
In chapter 5, Wells compares traditional approaches to performance management (individual employee gap analysis, then goal‐setting, training or punitive measures) with a sustainable performance appraisal approach focusing on individual employee strength and passions, seeing individuals in the context of the “whole” and providing them opportunities to grow and develop. The author asserts that this approach is much more prone to durable performance and healthy organisations.
In chapter 6, Brown and Shields apply the idea of sustainability to assess the economic and social sustainability of individual performance pay. From a systematic and theory‐guided as well as empirically grounded analysis the authors conclude that individual performance pay can be economically sustainable in the short‐term (p. 72). But, in the long‐term, unintended effects like reduced collaboration between colleagues, unfair gender discrimination and reduced willingness to exhibit altruistic behaviour can occur, and be detrimental for social cohesion and the work systems' social sustainability (p. 76). The authors propose to use more collective performance pay.
Chapter 7 by Dawson and Zanko provides a fresh look at occupational health and safety (OHS) that is, according to the authors, often overlooked or even ignored in mainstream HRM literature. The authors highlight that OHS literature provides psychological and sociological views that are neither well integrated, nor attempts a holistic view on OHS. Instead, of focusing on individual psychological and social causes of health problems or on the work system as a cause for injury and illness, the authors argue that the concept of social innovation could advance thinking on more sustainable OHS practices by focusing on improving health and well‐being of people in society.
Clarke introduces chapter 8 by putting forward that downsizing practices play only a minor role in HRM texts compared to their relevance for HRM practice regulating the dilemma of people being a key source of competitive advantage and of organisational costs. The author provides evidence for the long‐term effects of unsustainable downsizing such as the loss of skills, knowledge, experience and corporate memory. She argues for viewing employees not as resources, assets or costs but as being the organisation, to work together with employees to overcome organisational difficulties and to maintain the organisational system, as well as to downsize wisely and fairly by using a number of creative alternatives (e.g. phased retirement, leave options).
In chapter 9, Donnelly and Proctor‐Thompson shed light on the notions of “workplace sustainability” (p. 123) and “human resource sustainability” (p. 120) by highlighting the importance of collective employee voice and participation to achieve these. The authors argue for going beyond a means‐ends‐approach and assert that in particular mutuality and co‐operation are venues to more sustainable, participative, and fair workplaces with just rewards for all employees.
In the concluding chapter 10, Wells provides thought‐provoking ideas about developing the HRM field towards a new sustainability and also research paradigm. The author compares the traditional Newtonian research approach characterised by certainty, linear causation, and reductionism that dominates thinking on HRM with a complex systems view. Complex systems are characterised by uncertainty, nonlinear causation, emergence (self‐organisation) and interdependence (relationships between parts). Wells translates what he calls “principles of sustainability” (p. 134) from complexity theory into HR practice by suggesting that HRM needs to support “learning spaces” (p. 134), employee strength, to focus on shared vision, purpose and values (p. 135) and to understand the “whole” picture of HRM in the long‐term, rather than looking only at individual HR sub‐functions.
The book has been a challenge for its authors and it is a challenge for the reader in its encouragement not to take knowledge about HRM for granted, but instead to think about alternative ways of how to achieve a more sustainable HRM, workplace and organisation. This is certainly one of the key strengths of the book. For practitioners the book does unfortunately not offer one holistic concept of a sustainable HRM and thus might be disappointing for some. But many ideas for small steps for HR sub‐functions are offered (which is a bit contrary to the idea of looking at the “whole” instead of only part). For students, the book is valuable but should be offered alongside the complementary literature on Sustainable HRM that is partly neglected in the book.
Although it has not been the primary target of the publication, Readings in HRM and Sustainability is probably particularly useful for academics who wish to make a contribution in the emerging area of Sustainable HRM (e.g. Cohen et al., 2012; Ehnert, 2009; Ehnert, Harry and Zink, planned for publication in 2012; Hartog et al., 2008; SHRM, 2011; Mariappanadar, 2003; Wilkinson et al., 2001). The only concern that I am having is that not all the chapters provide ideas for a more sustainable HRM and seem to get lost in sub‐field paradigms and thinking (looking more at parts but not at the whole HRM system). But, writing and research is “conversation” and these readings offer a very valuable starting point for us to get in touch and discuss the diverse issues on sustainability and HRM. I wish the editor and the authors that this book will encourage more scholars and practitioners to embark on this exiting journey.
