Global Business and Management Research: An International

Journal Vol. 11, No. 2 (2019, Special Issue)

Linking Green HRM Practices and Employee

Sustainability Engagement
Stanley Yap Peng Lok *
Email: stanleyypl@segi.edu.my
Dean, Graduate School of Business, SEGi University, Selangor, Malaysia

Tay Lee Chin

Graduate School of Business, SEGi University, Selangor, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author

Abstract
Purpose: Employee sustainable engagement has gained importance in recent years.
Organizations engage employees in environmental preservation by making sure employees
understand the organizations’ environmental goals and implement the environmental
programs. Despite of many ways organizations to motivate employees engage in
environmental behaviors, there are questions on how organizations achieve
employee sustainable engagement. Therefore, this paper proposes that green HRM
practices achieve employee sustainable engagement.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper presents a review of existing literatures.
Findings –A research framework is developed to explain the direct relationship between
green HRM practices and employee sustainable engagement. Besides that, hypothesis is
formulated to provide the logical relationships between green HRM practices and employee
sustainable engagement.
Originality/Value: This study helps the organizations to attract investors. Engaged
employees are being to communicate to the business investors about the organizations’
genuine efforts in conserving resources. This paper provides comprehensive study on
employee sustainable engagement which will useful to researchers and managers in various
industries to understand employee sustainable engagement.

Keywords: Green HRM Practices, Employee Sustainability Engagement, Traditional HRM

Practices, Voluntary Participation, Environmental Management

1. Introduction
Malaysia has reported rapid economic growth through involvement in industrialization,
agriculture, tourism and export activities (Yap, Chong & Leow, 2017; Zandi, Yap, Aslam &
Singh, 2015). Such rapid economic growth has been adversely accompanied by the
environmental degradations. In this situation, organizations largely require the support of the
employees’ behaviour in environmental preservations (Boiral, Talbot & Paille, 2015; Jiang &
Bansal, 2003). This kind of employee support toward the environmental preservations termed
as employee sustainability engagement, employees’ voluntary participation in an
organization’s environmental programmes and activities (Boiral & Paille, 2012). The
employee sustainability engagement workforce show initiative in supporting the
organization’s sustainability policies and help it to achieve its sustainability goals.
Unfortunately, the issues of employee engagement in environmental issues are steadily
declining. Therefore, to bridge this gap, this study aims to examine employee sustainability
engagement.

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