A Critical Review on Employee Well-Being and Sustainable Human Resource Management Practices

In contemporary organizational research, the imperative to balance economic productivity with human sustainability has elevated Sustainable Human Resource Management (Sustainable HRM) into a core strategic framework. This critical review systematically evaluates 16 benchmark empirical and conceptual studies published between 2021 and 2026 to investigate how Sustainable HRM practices influence tri-dimensional employee well-being (physical, psychological, and social) and long-term organizational performance. Adhering to PRISMA 2020 systematic review protocols, this study synthesizes structural equation modelling (SEM) findings, panel econometrics, and qualitative case studies across diverse industrial and geographical settings. The synthesis reveals that while traditional HRM prioritizes short-term transactional output, Sustainable HRM embeds ergonomic work design, psychological safety, work-life boundary protection, and green employee voice, yielding a significant positive effect on psychological capital (β = 0.44, p < .001) and work-family enrichment (β = 0.41, p < .001). Meta-analyzed structural models demonstrate that physical and psychological well-being fully mediate the relationship between sustainable work practices and employee job performance (β = 0.38, p < .001), while drastically reducing turnover intentions. However, critical gaps persist regarding paradoxical workload pressures under green mandates and regional implementation disparities. This paper presents a multi-level governance framework providing actionable pathways for HR leaders to operationalize sustainable well-being.