Improving Quality of Work for Positive Health: Interaction of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 and SDG 3 from the Sustainable HRM Perspective

Evidence indicates that harmful work practices such as long working hours in high-income countries kill more people than road accidents (International Labour Organisation, 2021). The Global Reporting Initiatives (GRIs) for Sustainability—Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) 403 standards (2018)—include ‘work-related leading indicators’, but currently, a limited understanding of these exists to prevent an increase in deaths due to work-related non-communicable diseases. The health harm of work construct, which is different from work stress, is a recent development in the sustainable HRM literature explaining employees’ perception of the restrictions imposed by work practices on achieving positive health. To promote health and well-being for all in the employment stage of life (SDG 3), this study aims to establish the health harm of work that is caused by work intensification as work-related leading indicators of adverse/decent working conditions (SDG 8). A total of 605 white-collar full-time employees completed work intensification, the health harm of work, and mental well-being questionnaires, and self-reported on health risk factors and chronic health conditions. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the mediational research model of the dynamic transitionary effect of work intensification on employee health and well-being through the health harm of work. The findings indicate that work intensification improves employee mental well-being (SDG 3), but the mediation transitionary effect of the health harm of work highlights that mental well-being is reduced when work intensification (SDG 8) started increasing the health harm of work among individuals. The health harm of work from the sustainable HRM perspective is found to be effective work-practice related leading indicators of health and well-being in the working population. Research and practical implications to develop a business-health agenda of shared values are discussed.