IMPACT OF SOFT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON WELLBEING AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF WORKING WOMEN: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS FROM PAKISTAN

Abstract

In industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology, health behaviors are often termed as well-being reflected in the subjective health-related experiences of employees at work. Combining Affective Events Theory (AET) with Broaden-and-Built Theory (BBT) and JD- R theory, this study attempted to test an antecedent-consequence model of employee well being with work engagement as a mediating variable. A purposive sampling technique applied to collect survey data from 305 women employees affiliated with Pakistani service sector companies. In this study, a partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS- SEM) via SmartPLS software was used to examine direct and mediating effects in the hypothesized structural associations. was Results supported the hypothesized direct impact of soft HRM practice i workplace humor on three types of women employee well-being i.e., psychological, social, and spiritual. Workplace fun was only confirmed to have a significant direct effect i.e., on psychological well-being. Results confirmed that all four types of women employee well being directly influenced life satisfaction. Findings supported the mediating effect of work engagement and serial multiple mediating effect of work engagement and employee well being on the hypothesized structural associations. Overall, the model explained an adequate amount of variance (23%) in psychological well-being and an acceptable amount of variance (19.8%) in life satisfaction. This study contributed in two ways to the broader streams of emotion-based research on individual well-being. First, when health-related behaviors is a reflection of individuals’ perception, soft HRM practices are likely to affect women employees’ sense of well-being directly (partial) and indirectly through work engagement. Second, results indicated that workplace fun and workplace humor indirectly influence life satisfaction through work engagement and employee well-being. It is possible, however, that such an outcome is limited to health-related behaviors largely constituted through individual perceptions as was the case observed in the surveyed health-related behaviors. For HR practitioners, the findings of this study implied that (i) hard HRM practices are necessary by not sufficient alone to promote workplace well-being, (ii) foster a work ambiance that triggers positive affective experiences creating high engagement levels and mutual exchange relationships to promote women’s sense of well-being, (iii) actively endorse programs that help develop psycho-social and physiological resources of women employees. For policymakers, this research implied the need to address employee well-being as a public priority matter by including it into the occupational health and safety laws