Sustainable HRM Practices and Their Impact on Employee Engagement: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry in Hyderabad

The growing focus of sustainability in corporate strategies has raised sustainable human resource management (SHRM) to the higher echelons of current business practices. This study examines the association between SHRM practices and employee engagement in the pharmaceutical sector of Hyderabad, a subset of the knowledge- intensive and globally competitive industries, which experiences extremely high rates of attrition in India. Based on the theoretical underpins from Social Exchange Theory, Resource-Based View and Stakeholder Theory, the study conceptualizes SHRM as a multi-faceted construct including green HRM, employee well-being, ethical practices, training and development, diversity and inclusion, and work – life balance.Descriptive and Analytic cross-sectional study design was employed and data was gathered from 545 respondents (HR managers and employees) through structured questionnaire on five-point Linkert scale. Analyses included descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and ANOVA. The findings show that the most important variable which positively associated with employee engagement that explained by four components, training and development, employee well-being, and work–life balance, followed by green HRM, ethical practices, and diversity, and inclusion. Academic engagement was highest in its cognitive aspect – an employee’s psychological involvement with day-to-day work, and relatively lower in emotional engagement. Differences by tenure suggested that engagement is prone to increase with tenure, pointing towards the importance of retention strategies.The results provide empirical confirmation for the theoretical proposition that sustainable HR practices lead to reciprocating employee behaviours, thereby making engagement a central SHRM outcome. Practical implications Finally, from a practical point of view, this study suggests the need for focusing on developmental opportunities, well-being initiatives, and inclusive policies to enhance the level of engagement in pharmaceutical firms. Policy implications Many policy implications were suggested including those that the women leaders believe should be institutionalized (e.g., sustainability-based HR policy frameworks), that focus on how women leaders can start working (e.g., onboarding programs that higher-level women leaders could use to engage early-tenure employees), and how they can be fostered (e.g., inclusiveness and ethical behavior). By addressing these dimensions, pharma cos in Hyderabad can increase engagement, decrease attrition and build long term competitiveness, while also aligning with larger sustainability goals.