Management Decision

Implementing innovative HRM: trade-off effects on employee well-being

Almudena Cañibano,
Article information:
To cite this document:
Almudena Cañibano, (2013) "Implementing innovative HRM: trade‐off effects on employee well‐being", Management
Decision, Vol. 51 Issue: 3, pp.643-660, https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741311309706
Permanent link to this document:
https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741311309706
Downloaded on: 11 February 2019, At: 08:40 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 49 other documents.
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

To copy this document: [email protected]

The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 4116 times since 2013*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
(2016),"High performance work systems, employee well-being, and job involvement: an empirical study", Personnel
Review, Vol. 45 Iss 2 pp. 296-314 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2014-0201">https://doi.org/10.1108/
PR-09-2014-0201</a>
(2008),"Tightening the link between employee wellbeing at work and performance: A new dimension for HRM",
Management Decision, Vol. 46 Iss 2 pp. 284-309 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740810854168">https://
doi.org/10.1108/00251740810854168</a>

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:216788 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service
information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please
visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of
more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online
products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0025-1747.htm

Implementing
Implementing innovative HRM: innovative HRM
trade-off effects on employee
well-being
643
Almudena Cañibano
Management Department, London School of Economics, London, UK

Abstract
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

Purpose – Although innovative HRM practices have been found to improve performance, the
management literature has overlooked their effect on individual level outcomes, such as employee
health and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the implementation of these
innovative practices has an impact on the three dimensions of well-being (physical, psychological and
social) and whether well-being should be considered as a mediator of the innovative HRM-performance
relationship.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses qualitative data collected from an in-depth case
study via document analysis and semi-structured interviews with HR practitioners and employees.
The data were coded using N-Vivo software.
Findings – The paper shows that innovative HRM practices can lead to both positive and negative
well-being outcomes. Furthermore, they create trade-offs between the three dimensions of well-being.
While they increase employee well-being on one dimension, they are detrimental to another.
Research limitations/implications – Due to the scope of the research, the paper bounded itself to
analyzing three innovative HRM practices. Different trade-offs may exist for other practices.
Practical implications – Many organizations are introducing innovative HRM practices assuming
that they will improve performance. However, the existence of well-being trade-offs needs to be
acknowledged and managed.
Originality/value – This paper shows that for a comprehensive understanding of the effects of
innovative HRM practices further studies need to contemplate the different dimensions of well-being
separately, as trade-offs may occur between them. It further suggests that well-being may be an
unexplored mediator of the innovative HRM-performance relationship.
Keywords Innovative HRM, Employee well-being at work, Innovation, Human resource management
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Innovative human resource management (HRM) practices (also called high
commitment, high involvement or high performance work practices) have been a
discussion topic (Boselie et al., 2005) within academy and industry for decades. Interest
lies in the fact they appear to impact positively on performance (Huselid, 1995; Combs
et al., 2006) which is encouraging firms to implement them.

The author would like to thank Oihana Basilio, Daniel Curto-Millet, Susan Fernie, Paloma
Sanchez, Richard Woolley and the two anonymous reviewers, for their comments on different
Management Decision
versions of this paper. She would also like to thank JPM, and TA, members of the company’s Vol. 51 No. 3, 2013
executive board, for kindly granting her access to the organization, as well as all the employees pp. 643-660
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
that have shared their experiences with her. The author acknowledges the funding support 0025-1747
received from the Fundación Ramón Areces Banco for this research. DOI 10.1108/00251741311309706
 MD Some studies assume this effect on performance stems from their positive impact on
51,3 workforce satisfaction (Appelbaum et al., 2000). However, these assumptions have
been challenged (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000) and some authors suggest these
practices may adversely affect employees by intensifying work (Ramsay et al., 2000).
Consensus has still not been reached.
This paper sets out to make a twofold contribution to this debate. First, we identify
644 some of the limitations of extant studies that explain the ambiguous results on the
relationship between HR practices and well-being, namely organisation rather than
employee-centred research (Godard and Delaney, 2000), disregard to HR
implementation and context (Khilji and Wang, 2006; Thompson, 2007), and
multidimensionality of the concept of well-being (Van De Voorde et al., 2011).
Second, we tackle this gap by thoroughly exploring the implementation of three
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

innovative HRM practices in the Spanish division of a major international consultancy

firm. Analyzing HR implementations and employee perceptions and experiences in
context allows us to contribute to existing empirical and theoretical understandings.
By adopting a case-study methodology, we take a more holistic approach to the study
of the HRM-well-being relationship and offer suggestions to overcome some of the
existing ambiguities. We propose that HR implementation leads to both positive and
negative well-being outcomes. It generates complex trade-offs between the different
dimensions of well-being, indicating that each of these should be specified separately
when looking at the HR-well-being-performance links.
In the first section, we review the literature and provide definitions of innovative
HRM and well-being. We then describe our methodology moving on to the findings,
their discussion and some recommendations for future research. The paper ends with
its limitations and some practical implications.

2. Literature review
For 25 years, innovative HRM practices have been steadily introduced on the
assumption they are positive to both organisational performance and employee
well-being (Boselie et al., 2005). Som (2006) defines innovative HRM as “any intentional
introduction or change of HRM program, policy, practice or system designed to
influence or adapt employee skills, behaviours, and interactions”. Their positive link to
performance has been evidenced (Delery and Doty, 1996; Combs et al., 2006) but impact
on employee outcomes is still debated.
According to Ramsay et al. (2000, p. 503) researchers reporting a link between
innovative HR practices and organisational performance agree “that the associations
reflect a causal link which flows from practices through people to performance”.
However, there is much uncertainty about the precise nature of this link. Two
contrasting perspectives exist (see Figure 1) (Van De Voorde et al., 2011). One school of
thought defends the “mutual-gains” alternative: employers and employees equally
benefit from the introduction of innovative HR practices, their assumption being that
these practices boost employee well-being (particularly in terms of satisfaction). In
turn, employees perform better, creating a win-win relationship with the organisation
(Appelbaum et al., 2000; Delery and Doty, 1996). However, this research is criticised for
being simplistic and somewhat uncritical (Fleetwood, 2007). The competing approach,
known as the “conflicting-outcomes” perspective, claims that the practices increase
organisational performance at the expense of employee well-being by increasing work
 intensity (Gallie, 2005; Green, 2001; Cañibano et al., 2012) and stress (Tarafdar et al., Implementing
2007; Ramsay et al., 2000). innovative HRM
Overall, further research seems necessary to understand the impacts of the
implementation of HR practices on employee well-being.
Three characteristics of extant studies can explain this situation. First, most HR
literature “uses organisations as the unit of analysis, [and] largely ignores the
differences in individual employees’ work attitudes and performance” (Green et al., 645
2006, p. 560). The general belief exists that the positive relationship between HR and
performance operates through employees. Research tends to adopt this reasoning but
neglects to test it or question employees, making assumptions about what is happening
at individual level and then focusing analyses and results on the organisational level
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

by relying on managerial perceptions of employee outcomes (Bartel, 2004). To better

explore the impact of HR on employee well-being, a micro-HR approach is required,
using individuals as the unit of analysis.
Second, most studies gather their data from HR managers, assuming their superior
knowledge regarding HR practices (Purcell, 1999). However, research shows that
managers report on intended practices (those designed by HR professionals) rather
than on implemented practices which may be different (Khilji and Wang, 2006). This
discrepancy potentially contributes to the ambiguity of findings linking HR and
well-being, but very few articles explore the implementation of HR practices preferring
to focus on their strategic conception (Chow, 2012). In contrast to this, there are calls for
a more holistic and contextualized analysis of HR processes (Truss, 2001). Nishii and
Wright (2008) propose a model whereby intended HR practices and performance are
connected through the mediation of actual HR practices, perceived HR practices and
employee reactions. This acknowledges that employees may not all perceive
implemented HR practices the same way because the implementation context and
individual employees will differ. More theory development is required to understand
the variables that intervene in this process.
Overall, we concur with Thompson’s (2007, p. 1299) statement that further case
study and qualitative-based work focusing on employees and their workplace are
necessary to advance our understanding of innovations in work practices and to
encourage further theoretical development. In particular, there is still much to learn
about HR implementations and employees’ reactions to them.

Figure 1.
The competing
approaches on the link
between innovative HRM
practices, employee
well-being and
performance
 MD Third, as noted by Pfeffer (2010), the management literature has largely disregarded
51,3 the study of health and well-being as outcomes of innovative managerial practices and
little research in the HRM field has tackled this problem (Baptiste, 2007). Although
many articles look at certain aspects of well-being, particularly satisfaction (Boselie
et al., 2005) and stress (Landsbergis et al., 1999), they have not holistically explored the
impact of new HR practices on health and well-being (Van De Voorde et al., 2011). This
646 article uses the World Health Organisation’s (1948) definition of well-being as a
three-dimensional concept, composed of physical, psychological, and social aspects.
Awareness of the interrelationship between health or well-being and working life is
not a new phenomenon. However, focus has evolved in occupational health literature,
from emphasising physical working conditions and issues like ergonomics and
engineering safety towards a more holistic approach including physical, psychological,
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

and social dimensions (Macik-Frey et al., 2007). Physical well-being is characterised by

the absence of negative symptoms like headaches, muscular soreness, fatigue, eyesight
problems, cardiovascular diseases, etc. (Danna and Griffin, 1999, p. 361) as well as the
presence of positive feelings such as energy and strength (Macik-Frey et al., 2007).
Psychological well-being has an affective nature and refers to people’s self-described
happiness, including positive states such as enthusiasm or cheerfulness, as well as
negative states like depression, distress or anxiety (Warr, 1987). While physical and
psychological well-being happen at the individual level, social well-being focuses on
social integration (feeling part of the community), social acceptance (trusting other
people) and social coherence (understanding social processes) (Keyes, 1998).
Research shows the same innovative phenomenon can lead to diverse or even
contradictory observations (Liker et al., 1999), influenced by human action and the
individual and social understanding of work (Vaast and Walsham, 2005). Arguments
that HR practices positively or negatively affect well-being are both supported by
either the “mutual-gains” or “conflicting-outcomes” perspectives. This paper takes a
broad exploratory approach to investigate if and how implementing innovative HRM
practices affects employee well-being.

3. Methodology
Lindell (2012) argues that the possible negative consequences of innovation, for both
employees and society as a whole, are neglected by existing research because most
models disregard its implementation and use. However, innovative practices are
complex and their effects are contingent on many factors, interpretations, and even
emotional aspects or “moods” (Orlikowski, 2000). Such diversity is hardly apprehended
by mainstream statistical studies. Quantitative analysis of large populations of firms
prevents researchers from assessing complicated and multifaceted processes and
mechanisms (Boxall and Steeneveld, 1999) so disentangling the effects of innovative
HR implementation on employee well-being requires an explorative qualitative
approach (Gratton et al., 1999). Following the example of previous research
(e.g. Donnelly, 2008; Truss, 2001), in furtherance of theory building, our analysis
relies on the in-depth study of a single case.

Research setting
The company is a multinational consulting organisation which has prizes for innovation,
and provides an excellent example of implemented innovative HRM practices. A senior
 manager highlighted this specificity saying that they “get so used to the continuous Implementing
innovations, that it seems the normal way to work” (HR Interviewee 2). innovative HRM
Our results focus on the company’s branch in Spain, with more than 10,000 employees.
Spanish subsidiaries of international firms have become strategic test beds for
implementing innovative HR practices (Wächter et al., 2006, p. 55) and have proved key to
establishing new organisational practices and developing HR in Spain (Rodriguez-Ruiz
and Martinez-Lucio, 2010, p. 135). This case analysis should provide valuable empirical 647
and conceptual understanding of the effects of innovative HR practices on employees, and
could be useful to the investigation of such links in other organisations.

Research design
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

The data collection is based on qualitative methods: 50 interviews and document

analysis. First, we analysed the company’s official written materials, including annual
reports, internal HR communication, and innovation reports to gather information on
existing policies. Then, we conducted two sets of interviews. First, we interviewed the
head of HR and three members of her team to discuss the most recently implemented
HR practices. As a result, we selected three that had been launched in the last two years
(telework, communication and participation). Second, we conducted 46 semi-structured
interviews with employees from different departments. These interviewees then
suggested the first three participants, after which we used a snowballing approach,
requesting each of them to recommend a further two colleagues. These interviews
lasted 40 minutes on average and personal characteristics (gender, age, etc.) were
stratified so as to have maximum diversity.
Interviewees were questioned about the three selected innovative HRM practices
and asked how their way of working had changed and whether their well-being was
affected. The questions (see Table I) sought to reveal the participants’ experiences of
such practices.

General questions 1. Are you generally aware of the new working practices the HR team has
implemented in the last two years?
2. In general terms, do you think this organisation cares for the well-being
of its employees?
3. Have you ever used the medical service? What was your concern?
Specific questions 4. Are you a user of this practice?
(repeated for each of the
three practices)
If yes a. Why did you decide to use it?
b. Can you describe your experience with it?
c. What are its advantages in your opinion?
d. What are its disadvantages in your opinion?
e. Has it had an impact on the way you feel?a
If no a. Why have you decided not to use it?
b. Does any of your team-members use it?
c. How do you feel about this new way of working?
d. What are its advantages in your opinion?
e. What are its disadvantages in your opinion?
Note: a If not spontaneously mentioned, the interviewer probed with the question: Would you say this Table I.
practice has influenced your health or well-being at all? In what ways? Interview questions
 MD Data analysis
51,3 All the interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded using N-Vivo Software.
Since we wanted to explore the different dimensions of well-being, before examining
the data, we developed three a priori codes (one per dimension: physical,
psychological and social). Then, a total of ten inductive sub-codes emerged from the
data. For physical well-being, we labelled our codes based on symptoms and
648 experiences present in the occupational health literature (Macik-Frey et al., 2007):
musculoskeletal problems, fatigue and energy. At the psychological level, we used
Warr’s (2009, p. 58) categorisation as a guideline. Four of his constructs emerged in
our interviews and are used to code the data: stress, anxiety, satisfaction and
enthusiasm. For social well-being, three sub-codes surfaced that we labelled: social
integration, social acceptance and social coherence following Keyes (1998). Each
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

code was then subdivided to identify whether the interviewee experienced an

increased or reduced symptom or feeling (for example, quotes coded under
“satisfaction” were further divided into “increased satisfaction” or “reduced
satisfaction”).

4. Findings
As a result of the initial managerial interviews, three practices emerged as the most
innovative and relevant for the organisation:
(1) telework: giving employees the opportunity to work from home;
(2) communication: enabling physically separated employees to be constantly
connected, share documents, make virtual calls, etc. through a collaboration
toolset; and
(3) participation: allowing employees to share and discuss their innovative ideas
through an online internal platform (each year winning ideas are selected for
implementation).

Implementation and use of these practices differs across the company. Telework is still
not available to all departments, hence only half the interviewees benefited from it. The
communication and participation practices are accessible to all employees but not
everyone uses the latter. Table II summarises the number of interviewees using each
practice.
In this section we present evidence of the positive and negative experiences that
employees report regarding these three practices by focusing on the three well-being
dimensions aforementioned (physical, psychological and social). The complex effect of
implementing HRM is highlighted because none of the practices has an outright
positive or negative consequence on well-being. Instead, they seem to create trade-offs
between the three dimensions.

Interviewee experience of the practice Telework Communication Participation

Table II. User 25 46 24

Interviewee use of the Has access but is not a user 5 0 22
selected HR practices Has no access 16 0 0
 Teleworking Implementing
Innovative practice 1 involves employees working from home certain days a week. innovative HRM
According to the managerial interviewees it was implemented to meet widespread
employee demand and cut space costs. Its effects on the different dimensions of
employee well-being are summarised in Table III.
At the physical level teleworkers describe the positive effects on their well-being. The
codes “reduced fatigue” and “increased energy” dominate their discourse. Some feel less 649
tired because of not wearing work clothes: “At home I don’t need to put on a suit, I work
in my jeans and that makes me feel rested” (I28). Others like working in a quiet

WB
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

Practice dimension Effect Code No Examples

Telework Physical 2 Muscoloskeletal 3 “It would be good to provide

problems teleworkers with good equipment to
work from home, specially to avoid
back problems” (I32)
þ Reduced fatigue 17 “At home I don’t need to put on a suit, I
work in my jeans and for some reason
that makes me feel rested” (I28)
Increased energy 13 “I wake up and I feel I can do so much
more because I get to avoid traffic
jams” (I45)
Psychological 2 Increased stress 3 “Working at home, makes managing
the boundaries between work and
family life bit stressful” (I2)
þ Increased 19 “Having the chance to work both at
satisfaction home and in the office is what really
keeps me satisfied and efficient” (I12)
Reduced stress 14 “When I work from home (. . .)[I] have a
relaxed breakfast, read the news and
start work without feeling already
stressed by the driving” (I20)
Increased 11 “I can’t wait to be able to work from
enthusiasm home and have more time!” (I26)
Social 2 Reduced social 14 “Even if we are still in touch, we are
integration not in the same place five days a week.
You don’t lose the relationship entirely,
but it’s not the same” (I23)
Reduced social 11 “A lot of managers have the feeling
acceptance that people waste their time at home”
(I10)
Reduced social 9 “Since I work at home (. . .) I’m not
coherence always aware of the gossip, which
sometimes is crucial to understand
what is going on” (I38)
Increased work-life 8 “I often work from home, my wife sees
conflict it and she is not happy about it” (I19)
þ Reduced work-life 5 “Thanks to telework, when my parents
conflict were hospitalized last year, I was able Table III.
to be where I should (the hospital), Telework and employee
while doing what I should (work)” (I11) well-being
 MD atmosphere: “Noise makes me tired and at home I get peace and quiet” (I12). A few say it
51,3 gives them the chance to exercise: “Since working from home, I don’t have to waste time
commuting so I can go to the gym twice a week. This makes me feel much better” (I9).
At the psychological level “increased satisfaction” and “reduced stress” are
recurrent codes with teleworkers who are satisfied with the new practice: “Being able
to work both at home and in the office makes me satisfied and efficient” (I12).“By
650 working from home I avoid the traffic which is fantastic. I have a relaxed breakfast,
read the news and start work without feeling stressed by the driving” (I20).Telework
also generated enthusiastic comments. It is still an uncommon practice in Spain and
workers appreciate the fact that the company allows them to work outside the office:
“It’s great that with the kind of work culture we have in this country, our company is
taking this step and trusting us” (I3). Second, individuals that have applied for it are
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

very optimistic: “I can’t wait to work from home and have more time!” (I26).
From a social well-being perspective, working outside the office seems to reduce
social integration. Certain interviewees mentioned this as their main reason for not
teleworking: “I don’t work at home because I need to know what’s going on. Besides, it
could spoil my relationship with colleagues and upset our team’s informal
communication” (I33). To support this, one interviewee said: “Even if we’re still in
touch, we’re not together 5 days a week so the relationship isn’t as strong” (E23).
Moreover, telework is still not entirely accepted and can generate mistrust. This
sentiment was coded under “decreased social acceptance”. First, as noted by
interviewee number 10, “many managers feel that people waste their time at home”
(I10). They do not trust them to be as diligent and fellow workers also question this.
Two interviewees said: “I wonder if they really work as much at home. . . I think I’d
take more breaks and get distracted” (I37) and “Some people work less from home
because they’re not supervised” (I21).
Furthermore, the data suggests that telework affects social coherence. Face-to-face
and informal relationships are reduced so the teleworker’s ability to make sense of
social exchanges in the work context is also weakened. “Since I’ve worked at home I’ve
missed things in the office; keeping up with the gossip is sometimes crucial to
understanding what’s going on” (I38).
Telework has unclear effects on family life. Despite enabling workers to manage
their multiple responsibilities better it distorts work boundaries, sometimes invading
private life. One interviewee said: “one of the problems with flexibility is that we can
transfer work to our personal lives, and that’s hard to stop. My wife sees me working at
home and isn’t happy about it” (I19).
All in all, telework seems to increase physical and psychological well-being while
decreasing social well-being.

Communication
Innovative practice 2 was implemented to encourage information sharing and is
enabled by software installed in every employee’s computer. It allows employees to
observe whether colleagues are using their computers, to chat, share documents and
desktops, explore others’ agendas to see what they are working on or when they are
available. Table IV synopsises its effects on well-being.
With this practice, the effects on physical well-being are less straightforward than
for the previous practice and should be considered cautiously. Pieces of discourse
 Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

Practice WB dimension Effect Code No. Examples

Communication Physical 2 Muscoloskeletal problems 5 “We get drawn by this communication madness! I love it but I know that
working these long hours, sitting all the time, is affecting my back” (I44)
Increased fatigue 28 “Since the communication tool was launched, waking up at 5 to chat
with Indians and going to bed awfully late because I am discussing with
the Americans has become fairly common for me. I’m exhausted” (I28)
Lack of energy 15 “Many days I can’t take a break for lunch because I have communication
requests (. . .) In the afternoon I don’t have all the energy I should” (I24)
Psychological 2 Reduced satisfaction 20 “I dislike it because it makes me feel I don’t own my time anymore” (I3)
Increased stress 32 “With this tool the requests pop up constantly. You feel intimidated and
stressed because it seems you need to answer immediately” (I29).
Increased anxiety 13 “We are bombarded with questions (. . .) feeling anxious is almost
inevitable when a new window opens up in your screen every 30
seconds” (I39).
þ Increased satisfaction 7 “When we first got this communication system, my team was very
satisfied. It saved us a lot of (. . .) time because we could contact people
with one click” (I15).
Increased enthusiasm 4 “Isn’t it incredible that we can work with someone in India just the way
we do with someone in Spain?” (I17)
Social 2 Reduced social integration 5 “I find myself chatting online with someone that sits two rows behind
me, yet I never see their face of hear their voice” (I30)
Reduced social coherence 4 “Sometimes I ask a question and I get so many different answers and
options to consider that I end up being more doubtful than I was to start
with” (I31)
þ Increased social integration 28 “My team is completely international. Thanks to this tool I am (. . .) in
touch with them and we have weekly meetings, just as if we were in the
same city” (I24).
Increased social acceptance 8 “Even if people are working at home they are available online and one
can see whether a colleague is away from the computer or not” (I36).
Increased social coherence 15 “This is my major tool of information and answers at work” (I23)
Implementing

Communication and
employee well-being
651
innovative HRM

Table IV.
 MD coded as “reduced energy” and “increased fatigue” are very common although often
51,3 paired with comments on the constant connectivity that this practice requires, or linked
to the international nature of this firm’s workforce. “Since the communication tool was
launched, it’s not uncommon for me to wake up at 5 to chat with Indians and go to bed
late because I’m discussing something with the Americans. I’m exhausted. ”(I28)
“Often I can’t take a break for lunch because of communication requests and messages
652 coming up from all over the world in the tool. I nibble something and keep working, but
in the afternoon I lack energy.” (I24). Some interviewees suffer musculoskeletal
problems, like backache, which are sometimes linked to this practice because they
work longer hours: “We get drawn into this communication madness! I love it but
working long hours, sitting all the time, is giving me backache.” (I44).
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

From a psychological perspective, interviewees suggest that effects evolve over

time. In the first months their satisfaction increased through being able to share
knowledge and work closely with colleagues. They appreciated that productivity
increased because of such smooth knowledge flow. “Depending on others for essential
information can cause problems, but with the new communication tool I felt I had it all
in a mouse-click. It saved lots of time in the information search” (I31). Moreover, some
reactions denoted great enthusiasm: “It’s incredible that we can work with someone in
India as if they were in Spain” (I17).
Notwithstanding, most interviewees signal that over time, this practice has
intensified the work pace and created new tasks, making employees feel stressed. It can
produce what Herbig and Kramer (1994) label as “information overload”, creating
tension in those who consider it “invasive”. This phenomenon is related to the “real
time” trait of the tool, which accelerates communication, requiring a “right here, right
now” mentality. An interviewee said: “You can decide when to answer the phone or
e-mail, but with this tool requests pop up constantly. . . you feel intimidated and
stressed because it seems you need to answer immediately” (I29).
Additionally, the open management of agendas that the practice implies has
increased stress. Everybody can see when colleagues are available, who they are
meeting, for how long, etc. and can suggest meetings in the free slots. One interviewee
complained: “You stop owning your time” (I30). This generates a feeling of increased
monitoring and control and one interviewee even defined the tool as “the police” (I32).
Increased anxiety is also present because employees feel they are being “bombarded
with questions” – one of our interviewees said – “feeling anxious is almost inevitable
when a new window opens up in your screen every 30 seconds” (I39).
At the social level, the practice seems to increase integration. Being a global
organisation workers are spread over the world and thanks to this practice, employees
feel closer to their international colleagues, and part of an international community.
One interviewee said: “My team is completely international. Thanks to this tool we’re
constantly in touch and have weekly meetings as if we were in the same city” (I24).
Moreover, according to teleworkers this tool mitigates their isolation and reduced
social acceptance, because they are in touch with colleagues, without being physically
present in the office. “Even if people are working at home they’re available online and
you can see if they’re on the computer or not” (I36).
Finally, this practice contributes to increased social coherence, because employees
can instantly reach each other to solve doubts and be updated. An interviewee defined
the tool as his “major source of information and answers” (I23). However, this positive
 trend can reverse if the information flow is so great that employees feel overwhelmed: Implementing
“sometimes I ask a question and get so many different answers that I end up being innovative HRM
more confused than I was to start with” (I31).
Overall, the communication practice seems to decrease physical and psychological
well-being while increasing social well-being.

Participation 653
The third innovative HRM practice provides employees with the opportunity to
participate and suggest innovative ideas by using an online platform for a number of
discussion forums. A summary of its effects on well-being is shown in Table V.
The data suggests this practice is a source of positive psychological well-being and
increased enthusiasm is common among interviewees who talk of “opportunities and
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

challenges” (I19). The fact that ideas can be transformed into new practices, products
or services impresses workers. “It’s amazing that one of my ideas can be selected by the
organisation. I’m very excited about the whole process” (I23). Similarly, interviewee 10
describes this practice as a wheel turning: “you do one thing and it motivates you to do
another. It gives you wings” (I10).
Nevertheless, it appears to impact negatively on social acceptance. Its introduction has
created greater competitiveness and even envy owing to the selection process for the best
ideas and the resulting innovation “winners”. A worker said: “paradoxically, in certain
cases, instead of boosting collaboration, it’s making workers distrustful” (I39). Moreover,
as participation is voluntary, most employees say they lack the time. Some think that
“people providing the most ideas have more free time (away from clients) and on top of
that, they get awarded for their participation” (I1). Non-participants suspect that
participants work less. An executive interviewee stated: “I don’t use it. I don’t encourage
my team to. Where would they find the time? People who use it aren’t so busy” (I15).
In sum, the participation practice seems to positively impact on psychological
well-being to the detriment of social well-being. No impact on physical well-being was
reported.
Our findings are summarised in Table VI and suggest that none of the practices has
an overall positive or negative effect on health. Instead, they generate well-being
trade-offs between the three dimensions of well-being explored.

Practice WB Effect Code No. Examples

dimension

Participation Psychological þ Increased 17 “I really like this practice. It brings

satisfaction people together and it has allowed me
to meet colleagues from other
departments that similar innovative
interests” (I2)
Increased 11 “I find amazing that one of my ideas
enthusiasm can be selected as ‘a must do’ for the
organization. I’m very excited with
the whole process” (I23).
Social 2 Reduced social 13 “Paradoxically, in certain cases, Table V.
acceptance instead of boosting collaboration, it’s Participation and
making workers distrustful” (I39) employee well-being
 MD 5. Discussion and recommendations for future research
51,3 Very few investigations in HR management literature have specifically studied the
consequences of innovative practices on employees’ health and well-being (Pfeffer,
2010). Most authors believe the positive relationship between innovative HRM and
performance operates through employees (Boselie et al., 2005), but two opposed
perspectives on this mediation exist: the “mutual-gains” approach and the “conflicting
654 outcomes” perspective (Van De Voorde et al., 2011).
The initial literature review indicated that such ambiguous results on the HR
practices-well-being relationship stem from three limitations of extant studies:
(1) Organisation rather than employee-centred research (Godard and Delaney,
2000): to earn external validity, studies focus on analyses at organisational level
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

relying on managerial perceptions of employee outcomes instead of questioning

employees.
(2) Disregard of HR implementation and context (Khilji and Wang, 2006;
Thompson, 2007): study of HR processes should be contextualised and studied
more holistically (Truss, 2001). Exploring the managerial perspective is not
enough to understand the way employees experience them (Nishii and Wright,
2008).
(3) Multidimensionality of well-being (Van De Voorde et al., 2011): in HR research
on employee well-being, only some of the psychological aspects (like
satisfaction or stress) have been considered, while other dimensions have
mainly been ignored.

To try to overcome these limitations and provide new insights, this paper has explored
and analysed the effects that implementing innovative HRM practices has on all three
dimensions of employee well-being, in a highly innovative consultancy firm.
First, our findings suggest that the “mutual gains” and “conflicting outcomes”
perspectives are not completely at odds with each other. The same practice can impact
positively on one dimension of well-being and negatively on another. Desirable and
detrimental effects coexist because trade-offs between the different dimensions arise.
In line with Grant et al. (2007), our findings indicate that managerial practices do not
have a single straightforward effect on well-being but different effects on different
dimensions, creating these complex trade-offs.
Even if telework has been implemented because of widespread employee demand,
its positive effects on physical and psychological well-being are counterbalanced by a
negative impact on social well-being. Conversely, while communication practices
increase well-being from a social perspective, they have a negative impact on physical
and psychological health. Participation’s positive effects on psychological well-being
coexist with its negative impact on social health.

Physical Psychological Social

Table VI.
Innovative HRM Telework þ þ 2
practices and well-being Communication 2 2 þ
– summary of effects Participation / þ 2
 This finding shows that distinguishing between the three dimensions of well-being is Implementing
required for a comprehensive analysis of the innovative HRM-well-being relationship. A innovative HRM
positive effect on psychological health (for example on satisfaction, as posited by the
“mutual-gains” approach (Appelbaum et al., 2000) is compatible with negative impacts
on physical and social well-being. Therefore, each dimension should be analysed
individually, especially since each practice seems to affect them differently. One cannot
assume that the effects of each practice are additive and that the more practices, the 655
stronger their impact. As noted by Horgan and Muhlau (2006), practices may
compensate each other so their final effect is neutral or non-significant, creating what
they call “deadly combinations”. Arguably, the relationship of different practices with
each well-being dimension would need to be specified separately. This is graphically
summarised by arrows one, two and three in Figure 2. This is relevant to the research
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

into the HRM-performance relationship because it signals that the three well-being
dimensions should be contemplated as different mediators in order to avoid specification
errors in quantitative models (Becker and Gerhart, 1996). Therefore, although not tackled
in this paper, the relationships depicted by arrows four, five and six in Figure 2 would
also need to be specified and tested separately in a quantitative study.
However, our findings also suggest that developing research with a contextual
approach is necessary to further our knowledge. Implementing new HRM practices is a
chaotic process and each employee may interpret it differently (Nishii and Wright, 2008),
leading to a number of sub-stories overlooked by quantitative studies. First, our
interviews highlight perceptions evolving over time. For instance, initially, the
communication practice had a positive psychological impact due to increased
satisfaction and information sharing, however, as time passed the majority of
interviewees started considering it invasive and stressful. Second, HR practices are
socially constructed (Thompson, 2007). Although implemented by the organisation,
employees and managers enact them in different, unintended and unexpected ways.
Although implementing communication was not designed to increase working time,
employees have, in fact, reported working longer hours. Third, the impact of one practice
may be mitigated by another. For example, some interviewees described how increased
communication alleviates some of the negative social effects of telework. In sum, further
longitudinal qualitative studies could provide a better picture of the factors playing a role
in the enactment, evolution and synergistic nature of these practices.

6. Limitations
Due to the nature of this research, our results should be taken cautiously. First, many
innovative HRM practices have not been analysed (e.g. task flexibility, compensation

Figure 2.
A proposed model for the
innovative HRM practice
– organisational
performance relationship:
well-being as a
multidimensional
mediator
 MD systems, development practices, etc.) because it was fundamental to focus on particular
51,3 innovations to help interviewees clarify their ideas and allow us to draw useful
conclusions for management purposes. Therefore we cannot assume that trade-offs will
exist for all new implemented HR practices. In addition, there are factors that can shape
the way people make sense of the new practices and their impacts which have not been
explored. Personality and supervisory relationships, as well as organisational, structural
656 and broader socio-economic influences, may affect employees’ perceptions and reactions
to implemented HRM. However, both were beyond the scope of this paper.
Second, the analysis is exploratory and bounded by a single case, so results cannot
be directly extrapolated to other organisations or generalised. However, the fact that
well-being trade-offs exist in this particular context provides insight into the debate on
the link between HRM and well-being and a way to further studies on this issue. It
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

should also be remembered that the literature offers examples of significant

contributions made through in-depth analysis of one specific firm, and the
understanding of its processes (Donnelly, 2008; Truss, 2001).

7. Conclusions and practical implications

Our findings have a practical relevance because many organisations are introducing
these innovations assuming that they will improve performance. However, if the
positive well-being effects are counterbalanced by negative unintended outcomes on
other well-being dimensions, performance may increase less than expected. Being
aware of possible side-effects and managing them should optimize their benefits.
The decrease in social well-being generated by telework is partly mitigated by
increased communication so other forums, either virtual or face-to-face, should be used
to compensate. There are also negative physical health problems that could be easily
solved by providing training and support (Burke, 2009). The firm’s medical service
offers advice on changes at work or in the working space and training programmes
will soon be launched for workers to learn how best to work from home.
Seldom do the negative effects stem from the innovation per se, but from its
management. For example, the fact that workers are encouraged to participate and
propose innovative ideas is only disadvantageous to employee well-being when it
creates internal competitiveness and some employees lack time to participate.
To resolve this situation, team managers responsible for distributing and
supervising work should be encouraged, through marketing, training or variable pay,
to allocate time for their supervisees to participate.
Analogously, in principle, communication improves information sharing and boosts
employee satisfaction but when workers are constantly monitoring each other it
becomes harmful (Tolsby, 2000). A solution to this would be to filter messages so that
employees could change their “communication status” from “available” or “readily
contactable” to options like “absent”, “busy”, “unavailable”, “available only for urgent
matters”, etc. In addition, employees should be trained both to contact people only
when necessary to avoid overloads and to answer only when not busy.
Overall, managing these issues is essential to the success of the innovations and
generally implies first coaching, teaching, and encouraging individuals to ensure that
they have the necessary skills and confidence (Mikkelsen et al., 2002). Second, the
implementation should be coherent with other company policies and organisation
culture (Chow, 2012).
 Beyond managing negative outcomes, it would be beneficial for organisations to Implementing
overcome the pathological paradigm of health and observe employee well-being as a innovative HRM
resource and asset (Akerlind and Schunder, 2007). Traditional concerns linked to
employee well-being such as absenteeism, depression or decreased performance,
should allow for a new focus on engagement, purpose, vigour, enthusiasm and
optimism (Macik-Frey et al., 2007; 832). Besides suggesting how to minimize the
negative well-being effects of innovative practices, our results put forward a number of 657
positive effects that should be nurtured and extended. Shifting focus from only
preventing or resolving problems to promoting the positive aspects could transform
employee well-being into a source of competitive advantage and further innovation.
Having the opportunity to participate in innovative processes, as one interviewee said,
gave them “wings” (I10). Another pointed out that “vital and motivated employees are
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

more innovative” (HR interviewee 3). Thus innovative HRM practices are not only a
source of well-being, but of innovation as well. Identifying the positive effects could
lead into a virtuous innovative circle.

References
Akerlind, I. and Schunder, S. (2007), “Perspectives on health”, in Johanson, U., Ahonen, G. and
Roslender, R. (Eds), Work Health and Management Control, Thomson Fakta, Stockholm.
Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T. and Kalleberg, A.L. (2000), Manufacturing Advantage: Why
High-Performance Work Systems Pay Off, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY and
London.
Baptiste, N.R. (2007), “Tightening the link between employee wellbeing at work and
performance. A new dimension for HRM”, Management Decision, Vol. 46 No. 2,
pp. 284-309.
Bartel, A.P. (2004), “Human resource management and organizational performance: evidence
from retail banking”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 57 No. 2, pp. 198-203.
Becker, B. and Gerhart, B. (1996), “The impact of human resource management on organizational
performance: progress and prospects”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39 No. 4,
pp. 779-801.
Boselie, P., Dietz, G. and Boon, C. (2005), “Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and
performance research”, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 67-94.
Boxall, P. and Steeneveld, M. (1999), “Human resource strategy and competitive advantage: a
longitudinal study of engineering consultancies”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 36
No. 4, pp. 443-63.
Burke, M.S. (2009), “The incidence of technological stress among baccalaureate nurse educators
using technology during course preparation and delivery”, Nurse Education Today, Vol. 29
No. 1, pp. 57-64.
Cañibano, A., Basilio, O. and Sanchez, M.P. (2012), “Organizational innovations: an exploratory
study of negative effects”, in Sveiby, K.E., Grinperberg, P. and Segercrantz, B. (Eds),
Challenging the Innovation Paradigm, Routlege, London.
Chow, I. (2012), “The roles of implementation and organizational culture in the HR–performance
link”, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 23 No. 15, pp. 3114-32.
Combs, J., Liu, Y., Hall, A. and Ketchen, D. (2006), “How much do high-performance work
practices matter? A meta-analysis of their effects on organisational performance”,
Personnel Psychology, Vol. 59 No. 3, pp. 501-28.
 MD Danna, K. and Griffin, R. (1999), “Health and well-being in the workplace: a review and synthesis
of the literature”, Journal of Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 357-84.
51,3
Delery, J.E. and Doty, D.H. (1996), “Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource
management: tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance
predictions”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 802-35.
Donnelly, R. (2008), “Careers and temporal flexibility in the new economy: an Anglo-Dutch
658 comparison of the organisation of consultancy work”, Human Resource Management
Journal, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 197-215.
Fleetwood, S. (2007), “Why work-life balance now?”, International Journal of Human Resource
Management, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 387-400.
Gallie, D. (2005), “Work pressure in Europe: 1996-2001: trends and determinants”, British Journal
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

of Industrial Relations, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 351-75.

Godard, J. and Delaney, J.T. (2000), “Reflections on the ‘high performance’ paradigm’s
implications for industrial relations as a field”, Industrial and Labor Relations Review,
Vol. 53 No. 3, pp. 482-502.
Grant, A., Christianson, M. and Price, R. (2007), “Happiness, health, or relationships? Managerial
practices and employee well-being trade-offs”, Academy of Management Perspectives,
Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 51-63.
Gratton, L., Hope-Hailey, V., Stiles, P. and Truss, C. (1999), “Linking individual performance to
business strategy: the people process model”, Human Resource Management, Vol. 38 No. 1,
p. 17.
Green, F. (2001), “It’s been a hard day’s night: the concentration and intensification of work in
late twentieth-century Britain”, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 39 No. 1,
pp. 53-80.
Green, K.W., Wu, C., Whitten, D. and Medlin, B. (2006), “The impact of strategic human resource
management on firm performance and HR professionals’ work attitude and work
performance”, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 17 No. 4,
pp. 559-79.
Herbig, P.A. and Kramer, H. (1994), “The effect of information overload on the innovation choice
process”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 45-64.
Horgan, J. and Muhlau, P. (2006), “Human resource systems and employee performance in
Ireland and The Netherlands: a test of the complementarity hypothesis”, The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 414-39.
Huselid, M. (1995), “The impact of human resource management practices on turnover,
productivity, and corporate financial performance”, Academy of Management Journal,
Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 635-72.
Keyes, C.L. (1998), “Social well-being”, Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 61 No. 2, pp. 121-40.
Khilji, S.E. and Wang, X. (2006), “Intended and implemented HRM: the missing linchpin in
strategic international human resource management research”, International Journal of
Human Resource Management, Vol. 17 No. 7, pp. 1171-89.
Landsbergis, P., Cahill, J. and Schanll, P. (1999), “The impact of lean production and related new
systems of work organization on worker health”, Journal of Occupational Health
Psychology, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 108-30.
Liker, J.K., Haddad, C.J. and Karlin, J. (1999), “Perspectives on technology and work
organization”, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 25, pp. 575-96.
 Lindell, M. (2012), “Are negative consequences for employees and society included in models of Implementing
innovation processes?”, in Sveiby, K.E., Grinperberg, P. and Segercrantz, B. (Eds),
Challenging the Innovation Paradigm, Routlege, London. innovative HRM
Macik-Frey, M., Campbell Quick, J. and Nelson, D. (2007), “Advances in occupational health: from
a stressful beginning to a positive future”, Journal of Management, Vol. 33 No. 6,
pp. 809-40.
Marchington, M. and Grugulis, I. (2000), “‘Best practice’ human resource management: perfect 659
opportunity or dangerous illusion?”, International Journal of Human Resource
Management, Vol. 11 No. 6, pp. 1104-24.
Mikkelsen, A., Øgaard, T., Lindøe, P.H. and Olsen, O.E. (2002), “Job characteristics and computer
anxiety in the production industry”, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 18 No. 3,
pp. 223-39.
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

Nishii, L. and Wright, P. (2008), “Variability within organizations: implications for strategic human
resource management”, in Smith, D.B. (Ed.), The People Make the Place: Dynamic Linkages
Between Individuals and Organizations, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, NY, pp. 225-48.
Orlikowski, W.J. (2000), “Using technology and constituting structures: a practice lens for
studying technology in organizations”, Organization Science, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 404-28.
Pfeffer, J. (2010), “Building sustainable organizations: the human factor”, Academy of
Management Perspectives, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 34-45.
Purcell, J. (1999), “Best practice and best fit: chimera or cul-de-sac?”, Human Resource
Management Journal, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 26-41.
Ramsay, H., Scholarios, D. and Harley, B. (2000), “Employees and high performance work systems:
testing inside the black box”, Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 38 No. 4, pp. 501-31.
Rodriguez-Ruiz, O. and Martinez-Lucio, M. (2010), “The study of HRM in Spain:
the Americanization of Spanish research and the politics of denial?”, International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 125-43.
Som, A. (2006), “Bracing MNC competition through innovative HRM practices: the way forward
for Indian firms”, Thunderbird International Business Review, Vol. 48 No. 2, pp. 207-37.
Tarafdar, M., Tu, Q., Ragu-Nathan, B.S. and Ragu-Nathan, T.S. (2007), “The impact of
technostress on role stress and productivity”, Journal of Management Information
Systems, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 301-28.
Thompson, M. (2007), “Innovation in work practices: a practice perspective”, International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 18 No. 7, pp. 1298-317.
Tolsby, J. (2000), “Taylorism given a helping hand: how IT systems changed employees’
flexibility and personal involvement in their work”, Journal of Organizational Change
Management, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 482-92.
Truss, C. (2001), “Complexities and controversies in linking HRM with organizational outcomes”,
Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 38 No. 8, pp. 1121-49.
Vaast, E. and Walsham, G. (2005), “Representations and actions: the transformation of work
practices with IT use”, Information and Organization, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 65-89.
Van De Voorde, K., Paauwe, J. and Van Veldhoven, M. (2011), “Employee well-being and the
HRM–organizational performance relationship: a review of quantitative studies”,
International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 391-407.
Wächter, H., Peters, R., Ferner, A., Gunnigle, P. and Quintanilla, J. (2006), “The role of
international personnel function”, in Almond, P. and Ferner, A. (Eds), American
Multinationals in Europe: Managing Employment Relations across National Borders,
Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 248-70.
 MD Warr, O. (2009), “Environmental ‘vitamins’, personal judgments, work values, and happiness”,
in Cooper, C. and Cartwright, S. (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Well Being,
51,3 Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Warr, P. (1987), Work, Unemployment, and Mental Health, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
WHO (1948), Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the
International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the
660 representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization No. 2,
p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.

About the author

Almudena Cañibano is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Management (Employment
Relations and Organizational Behaviour Group) at the London School of Economics and Political
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

Science. Her research focuses on the study of innovative human resource management practices,
flexible work arrangements and their effect on occupational health, employee wellbeing and
organizational performance. Her research has been published as book chapters in the Oxford
Handbook of Participation in Organizations and the book Challenging the Innovation Paradigm
published by Routledge. Almudena Cañibano can be contacted at: [email protected]

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected]

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
 This article has been cited by:

1. L. Para-González, D. Jiménez-Jiménez, A. R. Martínez-Lorente. 2018. The link between people and

performance under the EFQM excellence model umbrella. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence
35, 1-21. [Crossref]
2. April J. Spivack, Ivana Milosevic. 2018. Perceived Location Autonomy and Work Environment Choice:
The Mediating Influence of Intrinsic Motivation. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 54:3, 325-348.
[Crossref]
3. Mark Loon, Lilian Otaye-Ebede, Jim Stewart. 2018. The paradox of employee psychological well-being
practices: an integrative literature review and new directions for research. The International Journal of Human
Resource Management 7, 1-32. [Crossref]
4. EdgarFiona, Fiona Edgar, GeareAlan, Alan Geare, ZhangJing A., Jing A. Zhang. 2017. A comprehensive
concomitant analysis of service employees’ well-being and performance. Personnel Review 46:8, 1870-1889.
Downloaded by University of Sri Jayewardenepura At 08:40 11 February 2019 (PT)

[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

5. Fiona Edgar, Alan Geare, David Saunders, Maike Beacker, Ilai Faanunu. 2017. A transformative service
research agenda: a study of workers’ well-being. The Service Industries Journal 37:1, 84-104. [Crossref]
6. PawarBadrinarayan Shankar, Badrinarayan Shankar Pawar. 2016. Workplace spirituality and employee well-
being: an empirical examination. Employee Relations 38:6, 975-994. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
7. Joon-Hee Oh, Brian N Rutherford, JungKun Park. 2014. The interplay of salesperson’s job performance and
satisfaction in the financial services industry. Journal of Financial Services Marketing 19:2, 104-117. [Crossref]