Track: Human Factors and Ergonomics

Abstract

In the last decade, Sustainable Human Resources Management (SHRM) has been increasingly considered as a novel solution to employee management and employment relationship. A number of studies show that certain human resources practices result in worker burnout, job stress, and work life imbalance, self-exploitation tendencies, blurring boundaries between work and private life. SHRM has the propensity to abate the negative impact of business practices on employees, society and the environment. As such, a number of scholars advocate for SHRM as a panacea for bringing back employees concerns in human resources management (HRM). Despite the recognition of the role SHRM plays in the successful implementation of the idea of sustainable development, there have been very few studies linking SHRM to employee job attitudes such as employee retention, engagement and loyalty. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of SHRM practices on employee retention, engagement and loyalty in the banking companies in Zambia. A sample size of 300 respondents was drawn. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that sustainable human resource management practices are positively associated with employee retention, engagement and loyalty in the banking industry. These findings imply that banks that implement SHRM practices successfully maybe in a better position to ensure that their employees are retained, engaged and become loyal their firms which will ultimately contribute to gaining competitive advantage and increased firm performance.