Adapting to uncertainty: navigating the pandemic with green and traditional HR practices

Abstract

This research explores the relationship between green human resource management (HR) practices and organizational agility in the context of international organizations based in Karachi, Pakistan, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing upon previous research and theories, the study investigates the impact of traditional and green HR practices on organizational agility. The research underscores the crucial role of organizational support as a predictor of organizational agility during the pandemic. The study utilizes a convenience sample of international firms operating in Karachi, chosen for their potential adoption of green HR practices. Data were collected through a survey questionnaire consisting of two sets of questions, one for organizations implementing green HR practices and the other for those employing traditional HR practices. The survey items measured green training and development, green rewards and recognition, organizational support, and traditional HR counterparts. The internal consistency of the constructs was established through Cronbach’s alpha values, indicating good reliability. The results supported the hypotheses that organizations with green training and development and green rewards and recognition exhibit higher organizational agility levels than their traditional HR counterparts. However, the interaction between green HR practices and organizational support did not significantly predict organizational agility. Despite this, the study highlights the substantial impact of organizational support on organizational agility during the pandemic. These findings emphasize the need for organizations to invest in green HR practices, given their potential to enhance organizational agility. Organizations are encouraged to consider the adoption of green HR practices not only as a sustainability initiative but also as a means to enhance their ability to navigate complex and unpredictable environments.

Introduction

Change is difficult, and businesses worldwide find it challenging to understand human behavior when it comes to making imperative changes that affect organizational agility [51]. In the last decade, organizations have already had to adapt to changes and make decisions faster than ever due to technological factors, but COVID-19 has massively intensified this need [26]. In his speech for the World Economic Forum, Justin Trudeau said, “The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.” Although dated 2018, it is even more apt now [58]. The world we live in now is volatile, uncertain and ambiguous. To survive and thrive in the times now, businesses are embracing organizational agility at scale and reaping meaningful benefits as a result [2]. An organization’s agility is reflected in its ability to predict change and modify its policies and practices to embrace it in a timely, effective, and sustained manner, simultaneously maintaining excellent performance [21, 62]. Organizations must depict long-term, sustained behaviors in challenging and unprecedented environments to demonstrate agility, becoming one of the most accepted characteristics of an organization’s success. For instance, organization’s making sustainable changes in response to the COVID-19 crisis, an external environmental necessity, demonstrate greater organizational agility [8].

McKinsey’s research on organizational agility during COVID-19 examined the transformation process of an iconic sporting goods and apparel brand that understood the importance of culture, expectations, and keeping people over the process. In the wake of COVID-19, they strengthened their commitment to communicate effectively, supporting human-to-human connection and offered practical support as this unavoidable transformation was implemented [26], reiterating the significance of HR in managing organizational agility. This is not a unique case. HR helped many organizations develop infrastructures to provide necessary resources, tools and support to process the change needed in the face of external challenges [53].

According to a 2006 study by the USC (University Southern California) Center for Effective Organizations, only 9% of HR leaders believe that their company effectively or very effectively connects HR to organizational performance and success. Hence, about 91% do not believe that their HR practices effectively connect with organizational performance, which is a very hard-hitting self-analyses [20]. In the wake of COVID-19, analyzing this gap has become even more important, as the need to make massive organizational change in the quickest manner possible has never been more imperative and unavoidable if the organizations intend to stay in business competitively. The notorious challenge, however, is how to make changes ‘sticky’ and sustainable in an organization. HR has been taken up on its crisis management credentials as the sudden and relatively lasting transformative world requires; the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered widespread debates about a ‘new normal’ for workforce and organizations as a whole going forward.

In this essence, post-COVID-19 organizations would have two sorts of HR practices, traditional and new—a temporary name for now until a definition for this new HR is presented. Traditionally, HR has been defined as the practical field of organizational administration and business management managing the workforce [45]. It is a system of practices and policies influencing employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance [22, 43]. It is using processes, methods, procedures, and systems that empower the staff to accomplish their own goals that in turn enhance the employee’s positive contribution to the organization and its goals—overall reflecting excellent leadership and management of people [54]. Calvard [9] presented three changes that the traditional HR needs to transform into the new HR for effective organizational agility: (1) remote working, (2) a higher appreciation for sectors of economies such as delivery drivers and healthcare workers who were previously undervalued, and (3) serving as platform to highlight the significance of climate change and green and sustainable business [9]. It is comparatively easier to see the importance and unavoidability of remote work, and the need for higher gratitude for sections of economy, such as healthcare staff during COVID-19. However, how important is it to adopt green practices, especially in HR?

In a recent article, Kang [29] argues that the urge to make business operations more environmentally friendly is not new. For years, industry bodies, governments, and even investors have been driving the idea that sustainable businesses have a better chance of succeeding. COVID-19 highlighted the truth of that belief: Across various corporate indices, companies in the UK with higher environmental, social and governance ratings have seen less impact on their performance [29]. Hence, HR has the responsibility to develop and implement groundbreaking ideas to help maintain a highly spirited organizational culture—for new and existing employees [56].

HR geared up amid a volatile health crisis and became the providers of essential communication on rules and procedures to be followed to ensure safety, health and hygiene, protocols of quarantining and isolating, along with lists of emergency phone numbers and hospital emergency numbers, list of hospitals. Many employee-oriented organizations conduct online classes to help them manage stress, ensuring their overall well-being and motivation [56]. There is a silver lining to this unmatched pandemic—every organization is improving on its agility [23]. They don’t have a choice. As the world transformed overnight when coronavirus hit, organizations did, too. Adopting practices to allow work from home, remote working, and virtual teams became necessary, so change had to happen within organizations and staff. New practices and policies were thought of every new day, and implemented to find the best fit–the best part of all this is how every other organization finds ways to do more with less [56].

Assuming organizations adopt best practices, traditional and green, and make policies to enhance organizational agility during a crisis, there is still one missing factor in the mix: organizational support. For this study, we will examine the impact of both traditional and green HR practices on organizational agility during COVID-19 and whether organizational support has a moderating effect between them. As COVID-19 hit, intentionally or not, many organizations adopted green practices to manage the required organizational agility—working from home, virtual teams, virtual training, the overall savings on utility, etc. [31], even though the adoption of green HR has been the need in light of climate change for some time now [3]. HR’s role came to prominence more than ever before [11], together with organizations supporting their employees as they adopted the new practices; however, there haven’t been many studies that have examined the effect of HR on organizational agility [5], let alone of green HR [3].

HR's role in organizations has gained unprecedented importance recently [11]. As businesses adapted to new practices and challenges, the HR department played a central role in supporting employees and ensuring the workforce remained agile and responsive. The evolving landscape of work and organizational structures placed HR at the forefront of addressing the needs of employees, making their role more critical than ever before. Chaudhury and Yeo’s work highlights this evolving dimension of HR and its impact on organizational dynamics.

While HR’s significance in organizational success has become increasingly evident, Azizsafaei [5] points out a significant gap in the existing literature. Limited research has examined the specific impact of HR practices on organizational agility. Organizational agility is a key determinant of success in today's dynamic business environment. Azizsafaei’s work draws attention to the need for more comprehensive studies that delve into the relationship between HR strategies and an organization’s ability to adapt, innovate, and thrive in rapidly changing markets.

Beyond the broader realm of HR, Ahmad [3] highlights an even more specialized aspect—green HR. Green HR involves integrating sustainable and environmentally conscious practices within human resource management. Despite the growing global emphasis on sustainability and corporate responsibility, there remains a scarcity of studies exploring the influence of green HR on organizations. Ahmad’s research sheds light on this important yet understudied facet of HR, underscoring the need to consider environmentally responsible HR practices in the broader context of organizational effectiveness and sustainability efforts.

Training [38]and rewards and recognition [27]within HR have the most effect on managing employees to adopt agile behaviors that can be economically fruitful for an organization [30]. Therefore, there is a need to understand if organizations with green training, development, rewards and recognition have managed the required organizational agility better than the ones with traditional HR during the pandemic. However, another important factor to consider here is organizational support, which determines how employees respond to the adopted traditional and green HR practices [55]. Therefore, it is imperative to examine whether green training, development, rewards, and recognition have a better relationship with organizational agility than traditional ones in the presence of organizational support’s role as a moderator and whether the moderating improves or declines the relationship with organizational agility [61].

During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses worldwide faced significant challenges and had to change how they work quickly. Many studies have looked at how HR practices affect how organizations can adapt, but this research brings something new. It adds the idea of using “green” HR practices focusing on being environmentally friendly. This is a fresh way of thinking about how HR can help organizations be flexible during tough times. By talking about both regular HR practices and green ones, the start of the research sets up a way to compare them and show how the environmentally friendly ones can make organizations better at dealing with fast changes.

Also, this research looks at how much employees feel supported by their organization and how that affects HR practices and adaptability. Other studies by Lenart-Gansiniec et al. [34] might have looked only at how HR practices on their own affect adaptability. This research adds a different perspective by looking at how the support employees feel from the organization interacts with HR practices to make a bigger or smaller impact on adaptability. This way of thinking is new and exciting. With the COVID-19 situation being so different, this research is in an excellent position to study how employees' feelings of support and HR practices work together to make a difference. By looking at how HR practices, perceived support, and adaptability all connect, this research shows that organizations should consider these things as part of a bigger plan, not just separate parts. So, the study explores new ideas and shows that these ideas are important for organizations to succeed during challenging times.

This study may prove significant in making a case for organizations to adopt green HR and organizational support to improve their organization’s agility to manage scenarios such as COVID-19 while reaping benefits for the environment and employees. This study is especially significant in Pakistan and generally South Asia since most of the literature on green HR is Western, and this has been highlighted as a gap to be filled in many studies [49].

Literature review

According to the resource-based view theory (RBV), an organization is an amalgamation of human, tangible, and organizational assets. These assets are invaluable and unmatched and serve as the principal source of achieving competitive advantage and sustained higher performance [7]. Now, sustainability does not only come from profits—it comes from giving value to human resources, it comes from taking care of communities, and it comes from raising awareness and taking action about the environment [57], which is imperative in an unprecedented pandemic such as COVID-19, when organizations need to prove their sustainability through the function of agility.

Organizational agility, an organization’s ability to swiftly respond and adapt to changing circumstances, has gained significant attention in recent years [59]. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the importance of agility as organizations had to navigate unprecedented challenges. This literature review explores the role of green and traditional human resource (HR) practices in enhancing organizational agility during the pandemic. Additionally, the moderating influence of perceived organizational support on the relationship between HR practices and agility will be examined.

Organizational agility is how thriving organizations can quickly adapt to changes, especially in uncertain times (Bahmani, Farmanesh, & Khademolomoom [6]). Researchers have looked into this area and found that agile organizations are better at handling unexpected situations. However, there is not an explicit agreement on what exactly makes an organization agile. The COVID-19 pandemic has made agility even more critical because businesses had to change rapidly to survive. How people are managed in organizations, called HR practices, plays a significant role in how agile an organization is. Rewards and recognition motivate employees, while training and development make them better at their jobs. Green HR practices, which focus on being environmentally friendly, have become important, too. Also, the support employees feel from their organization is crucial. This research wants to understand how traditional and green HR practices and support from the organization all work together to make organizations agile, especially in times like COVID-19 (Okręglicka et al. [44]).

HR practices, encompassing both green and traditional approaches, substantially impact organizational behavior and performance. Traditional HR practices include rewards and recognition, which motivate employees by acknowledging their contributions. Training and development enhance employees’ skills, making them more adaptable to change. On the other hand, Mehta and Chugan [41] identified that green HR practices emphasize environmental sustainability and align with an organization's broader goals. Green training and development equip employees with skills and cultivate a sustainability mindset, which is vital for adapting to dynamic circumstances.

Green HR practices focus on integrating sustainability into organizational operations (Zoogah [63]). These practices extend beyond profits to encompass environmental and social responsibilities. By adopting green practices, organizations enhance their competitive advantage while addressing pressing global concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for organizations to embrace sustainable practices, aligning financial success with responsible environmental conduct. Amid the pandemic, the importance of organizational support in enhancing agility has become evident. Perceived organizational support, the perception of how well an organization values and cares for its employees, plays a crucial role. It moderates the relationship between HR practices and agility. When employees feel supported by their organization, they are more likely to embrace and adapt to changes, contributing to organizational agility. Effective support fosters a positive work environment, promoting engagement and commitment, even in uncertain times (Grant [18]).

Effective HR practices such as appraisal and reward systems that include environmental awareness and implementation in their evaluation process are imperative to organizational success [25]. As organizations adopt greener policies as part of HR practices, and overall business, it is imperative to ensure that the green approach is reflected in tiny details, day-to-day functions and major decisions. Before the addition of green practices, free access to printers and copying was seen as organizational support and trust—not anymore [50]. Green training and development are training and development to help employees adopt a sustainable mindset in day-to-day work functions, manage larger organizational projects, and always look at new workflows, tasks, and customers with a green lens. It teaches them how to manage the environment as they perform their job. It helps them learn more about sustainability, conservation, waste management and more within their organization, and it sharpens their skills and ability to deal with environmental challenges [3].

This is then the time for organizational leaders and supervisors to step up and support the employees as they face the challenge of adapting to new work requirements. As organizations ask employees to show flexibility and adaptability for the unavoidable change, it is on organizations to walk the talk and display flexibility and patience to let employees adjust to the new situation as well [37]. Both green and traditional HR practices significantly enhance organizational agility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rewards and recognition motivate employees, training and development improve skills, and green HR practices align organizational goals with sustainability. The moderating role of perceived organizational support further emphasizes the crucial connection between employee well-being, HR practices, and agility. Organizations prioritizing HR practices and support are better positioned to navigate crises and adapt to changing circumstances effectively. This literature review sheds light on the interplay of HR practices, support, and agility, providing insights for organizations aiming to thrive during challenging times.

This is then the time for organizational leaders and supervisors to step up and support the employees as they face the challenge of adapting to new work requirements. As organizations ask employees to show flexibility and adaptability for the unavoidable change, they must walk the talk and display flexibility and patience to let employees adjust to the new situation [37]. Positive reinforcement and recognition of work is essential in a workplace, but that importance is multiplied in crisis such as COVID-19 [15]. Influential leaders put people first [40], validate their employees, and show gratitude as employees swiftly through adversities [15]. Remunerations, such as promotions, raises, and bonuses, motivate employees to improve their work performance in an organizational context [14].

Training and development are instrumental HR tools to prepare employees to become flexible and adapt to working needs [10], especially in a catastrophe such as COVID-19. As times progress, people entering the organization come with more skillset than ever. Still, the need for training and development is not only preferred but expected [1]. Employees will be geared toward doing their best to meet the organization’s expectations via improved efforts and resources if they see organizations investing in their training and development, especially when new ways and goals are introduced [48]. Organizational support as perceived by employees is their experience and understanding of the organization’s actions as well-intentioned or selfish [16]. For instance, are the rewards given for behaviors detrimental to employees but only beneficial for the organization? Or do rewards signify an achievement for both the employee and organization?

Similarly, is the training being provided for the organization’s selfish interest to make an employee multi-task, sometimes at a completely irrelevant job task? Or is the development beneficial for both the organization and the employee’s career growth. Royle [52] used organizational support as a moderating factor to determine employee commitment and behaviors. It is an understood principle that an organization's agility depends upon its people, who are committed to doing everything needed to ensure organization survives in turbulent times [28]. In light of this and data from previous research [55], this research believes organizational support will moderate the association between all independent HR variables and the dependent variable.

As reported in past studies, green rewards are significantly related to three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., economic, social and environmental. Generally, analyzing employee performances accurately is a challenge in itself. Still, despite that, the addition of green in the performance appraisal system to determine correct rewards and recognition positively impacts sustainability [35, 49]. Given that various researchers continue to stress the need to support greener work policies in terms of rewards and recognition as a way to develop organizational agility required during this pandemic [13], the following hypothesis is postulated (Fig. 1):

Fig. 1

Model

H1

Green rewards and recognition contribute more to organizational agility than traditional rewards and recognition.

H2

Green training and development contribute more to organization agility than traditional training and development.

H3a

Organizational support moderates the relationship between traditional training and development and organizational agility.

H3b

Organizational support moderates the relationship between green training and development and organizational agility.

H4a

Organizational support moderates the relationship between traditional rewards and recognition and organizational agility.

H4b

Organizational support moderates the relationship between green rewards and recognition and organizational agility.

Methodology

We plan to use explanatory research to analyze whether organizations with green HR displayed better organizational agility during COVID-19 pandemic compared to organizations with only traditional HR. Literature suggests that green organizations have fared better in this crisis because of the agility resulting from sustainability efforts before COVID-19 [60]. We plan to explain the varying degrees of organizational agility concerning the independent variable—traditional HR and green HR. Using the causal research design, we plan to explain the differences in the level of organizational agility observed and perceived by employees of international organizations in Karachi during COVID-19. As causal research entails [42], we collect the data to examine how green and traditional HR affect organizational agility differently. We are researching international firms that have a base in Karachi, Pakistan, since it is likely that international firms have adopted green HR., and this would form a solid foundation for comparative analysis on whether traditional HR had a better correlation with organizational agility or green HR since enough data can be obtained when considering international organizations that follow green HR, and traditional HR.

We have used convenience sampling under the non-probability sampling technique because We believe the subjects would be readily available, and it will help collect the data inexpensively faster [33]. We used a survey questionnaire with two sets of questions to receive the data, each with four variables. One questionnaire is intended to gather data from companies following green HR and other from companies following traditional HR only. The items would be chosen from previous studies to ensure established reliability, which will also be measured during our research. Earlier studies on green HR, strategic HR, organizational support, and agility by Franklin et al. [17], Pham et al. [47], Igbaria et al. [24], Mandago [36], Ajijala [4], and McCann et al. [39] studied and constructs and items were adopted from within these to develop the survey for this research. Since we are to compare the results of two samples, the most appropriate statistical analysis would be t-test using SPSS to determine which HR, traditional or green had a better relationship with organizational agility, with and without moderation of organizational support [46].

Results

Skewness and Kurtosis analyses are used for ascertaining the univariate normality of the adopted constructs. Table 1 shows that the kurtosis and skewness for all the constructs are within the acceptable range of + 2 to − 2. Thus, all the adopted constructs fulfill univariate normality requirements [19].

Table 1 Descriptive analysis

The internal consistency of the adopted constructs has been measured through Cronbach's alpha. The summarized results are depicted in Table 2.

Table 2 Reliability Analysis

The highest reliability (α = 0.956) is for the green training and development (GTD) (M = 3.35, SD = 1.19). Cronbach's alpha values for all the constructs are above 0.8, indicating good internal consistency. To test H1, we used t-test to determine whether there is a difference in organizational agility of organizations that have green rewards and recognition compared to those that only have traditional rewards and recognition. There were significant differences (t (106) = 3.592, p < 0.001) in the scores with the mean score for the group with green rewards & recognition (M = 3.97, SD = 0.70) was higher than the group with only traditional rewards and recognition (M = 3.40, SD = 0.88). The magnitude of the difference in the means (mean difference = 0.562, 95% CI = 0.252–0.872) was significant. Hence, H1 was supported.

To test H2, we used t-test to determine if there’s a difference in organizational agility of employees in organizations with green training and development compared to those with traditional training and development. There were significant differences (t (46.697) = 3.391, p < 0.005) in the scores, with the mean score for group with green training and development (M = 3.96, SD = 0.69) higher than the group with only traditional training and development (M = 3.34, SD = 0.92). The magnitude of the difference in the means (mean difference = 0.612, 95% CI = 0.249–0.976) was significant. Hence, H2 was supported, shown in Table 3.

Table 3 t-test | GRR -TRR, GTD -TTD

The data above reject H3a since the sig value of the interaction term is higher than 0.05. The negative value of the interaction term indicates that the combined action of two predictors is less than the sum of the individual effects [32], as given in Table 4.

Table 4 Moderation analysis of OS between TTD and OA

The data above reject H3b since the sig value of the interaction term is higher than 0.05. The negative value of interaction term indicates that the combined action of two predictors is less than the sum of the individual effects [32], shown in Table 5.

Table 5 Moderation Analysis of OS between GTD and OA

Discussions

Our results align with the older research that has predicted that traditional and green HR impacts organizational agility. The models are fragile when only using green training and development and green rewards and recognition to see the impact on agility. There's a need to dig deeper into this, perhaps. As stated above, what is noteworthy and up to expectation is the large impact of organizational support in predicting organizational agility during the COVID-19 pandemic [9].

This research and more research on green HR can make a strong case for organizations to work on green HR, which is imperative given the escalating climate change issues. Organizations especially large organizations have a pool of extremely talented and motivated employees at their disposal who can be charged with the responsibility to act consciously for the environment. Work environment and workplace policies are great motivators, often impacting lifestyle changes [12]. As is with this research, if more such research can make a case for organizations to invest in green HR because it will help them become more agile, organizations cannot then look away. Agility is the most needed organizational skill in the times facing us today.

Conclusion

Organizational support, a variable that was used as a moderator, in itself individually, is a strong predictor of organizational agility. It didn’t fulfill our moderation criteria at all. It is difficult to predict why moderation failed because even if organizational support did not display moderation between green HR and Organizational Agility, because the IV-DV model was weak initially, we expected it to moderate the relationship between traditional HR and organizational agility. There iss a need to dig deeper into this, perhaps. As stated above, what is noteworthy and up to expectation is the strong and large impact of organizational support in predicting organizational agility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theoretical implications

The research explores the relationship between green and traditional HR practices and organizational agility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical implications would include a deeper understanding of how HR practices contribute to organizational agility, particularly in a crisis. Investigating the role of green HR practices in organizational agility during the pandemic contributes to the growing body of literature on sustainable HRM. The findings could highlight the importance of environmentally friendly practices in building organizational resilience and responsiveness. The study examines the moderating role of perceived organizational support in the relationship between HR practices and organizational agility. Theoretical implications would involve shedding light on the significance of employees’ perceptions of support from the organization and its impact on HR practices’ effectiveness.

Practical implications

The research can provide practical insights for HR managers to design and implement HR practices that foster organizational agility during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It may highlight specific green HR practices that enhance agility and enable organizations to adapt to challenging circumstances. The study's findings can guide organizations in integrating green HR practices into their HRM strategies, emphasizing the importance of environmental sustainability in HR decision-making processes. This could result in more sustainable and responsible organizational practices. Understanding the moderating role of perceived organizational support can help organizations enhance their support systems for employees during crises. This may involve improving communication, providing resources, and fostering a supportive work environment to strengthen employee well-being and organizational resilience.

Future research directions

Future research could explore the long-term impacts of implementing green HR practices on organizational agility beyond the pandemic. This would provide insights into the sustainability of green HR practices and their enduring effects on organizational performance. A more careful and deeper dive into selecting organizations and respondents is recommended for future research. Another possible area for future research can be perhaps changing the dependent variable. Are organizations looking for organizational agility? Or is there another result that can be used as a more significant motivator to make a case of investment in green HR. Given everything and knowing everything about climate change, individuals and organizations are no longer in a position to take a back seat on the climate change issue. It is great if initiatives in greener policies have positive impacts on organizational goals—but what organizations may not consider at this point is this: climate change is bound to cause damage to an organization’s productivity, so even if not to increase productivity or agility, or other goals, organizations will need to act to prevent the damaged looming on our heads at this time.

Further research can Investigate the role of green and traditional HR practices in organizational agility during crises across different cultural contexts, which can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of their effectiveness. Comparisons between countries with varying levels of environmental consciousness and HR practices can provide valuable insights.

Limitations of the research

The study's findings may be limited to the specific context of the COVID-19 pandemic and may not be generalizable to other crises or periods. Replicating the research across diverse contexts is necessary to establish the robustness and external validity of the findings. Our research’s limitation is perhaps the existence of a control group that has traditional solid HR because then can we determine whether the addition of green HR increases or has any other kind of impact on organizational agility.

The research may rely on self-report measures to assess HR practices, perceived organizational support, and organizational agility. This introduces the possibility of response bias and may not capture the full complexity of these constructs. Future research could employ multi-source data collection methods for more objective measurements.

Due to the study's correlational nature, causality and directionality cannot be inferred. Longitudinal or experimental designs could provide stronger evidence for causal relationships between green and traditional HR practices, perceived organizational support, and organizational agility.