DOI: 10.1002/hrm.

21934

HR SCIENCE FORUM

Well-being-oriented human resource management practices

and employee performance in the Chinese banking sector:
The role of social climate and resilience
Brian Cooper1 | Jue Wang2 | Timothy Bartram3 | Fang Lee Cooke1

1
Department of Management, Monash
University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia Drawing upon positive psychology and a social relational perspective, this article examines the
2
School of International Business, relationship between well-being-oriented human resource management (HRM) practices and
Southwestern University of Finance and employee performance. Our multilevel model examines relationships among collectively experi-
Economics, Chengdu, China
enced well-being-oriented HRM practices, social climate (characterized by trust, cooperation,
3
School of Management, RMIT University,
and shared codes and language that exist among individuals within the organization), employee
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
resilience, and employee (in-role) performance. Based on the two-wave data obtained from
Correspondence
Jue Wang, Professor, School of International 561 employees and their managers within 62 bank branches in 16 Chinese banks, our multilevel
Business, Southwestern University of Finance analyses provide support for our four hypotheses. First, we found a positive relationship
and Economics, Chengdu, China. between well-being-oriented HRM practices and social climate. Second, social climate mediated
Email: [email protected]
the relationship between well-being-oriented HRM practices and employee resilience. Third, we
found a positive relationship between resilience and employee performance. Finally, employee
resilience mediated the relationship between social climate and employee performance. This
study is one of the first to unpack the social mechanisms through which well-being-oriented
HRM practices increase development of resilience and subsequent employee performance at
the workplace, namely through influencing group feelings of social climate.

KEYWORDS

Chinese banking sector, employee performance, employee resilience, social climate,

well-being-oriented HRM practices

1 | I N T RO D UC T I O N performance. It also responds to Guest's (2017) call for a new theoret-

ical approach to enhancing employee well-being through HRM. Guest
Despite the continued interest in human resource management (2017) conceptualizes well-being-oriented HRM practices as designed
(HRM) research and its impact on individual and ultimately organiza- to promote investment in employees (e.g., training, development, and
tional performance (Boxall, Ang, & Bartram, 2011; Guest & Conway, learning), provision of engaging work (e.g., jobs with appropriate work-
2011; Kehoe & Wright, 2013), there still remain large gaps in our load, role clarity and employee control, and information sharing), a
understanding of the mediating mechanisms through which HRM positive social and physical environment (e.g., employment security
leads to sustainable and increased performance (Jiang, Takeuchi, & and teams), employee voice (e.g., extensive two-way communication
Lepak, 2013). HRM systems are designed to enhance employee skills, between management and employees), and organizational support
commitment, and ultimately performance (Boxall & Macky, 2007; (e.g., participative and supportive management).
Datta, Guthrie, & Wright, 2005; Guest & Conway, 2011; Paauwe, Guest (2017, p. 22) argues the “search for a link between HRM
Wright, & Guest, 2013). Our article builds on a recent call by Jiang and performance has been pursued at the expense of concern for
et al. (2013) to further examine the mediating mechanisms across mul- employee well-being” and “what is therefore needed is a different
tiple levels of analysis to extend the academic and practitioner under- approach to HRM that is more likely to enhance employee well-being
standing of the process through which HRM may impact but which may also offer an alternative route to high performance.”

Hum Resour Manage. 2019;58:85–97. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrm © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 85

86 COOPER ET AL.

This is an important argument given contemporary workplace chal- potential strategy for organizations to effectively manage and support
lenges such as increased job stress associated with the lack of employ- their employees to overcome contemporary workplace challenges.
ment security and work intensification, and the growing interest in Resilience can be defined as the “developable capacity to rebound
sustainable and ethical HRM practices (Voegtlin & Greenwood, 2016). or bounce back from adversity, conflict, failure, or even positive
There has also been growing interest among HR practitioners in posi- events, progress, and increased responsibility” (Luthans, 2002b,
tive psychology. Positive psychology emphasizes employee well- p. 702). Despite its acknowledged importance, research on individual
being, happiness, and constructive cognitions such as resilience as a resilience in an organizational context remains limited (Stajkovic,
route toward enhanced employee performance (Seligman, 2002; 2006; Youssef & Luthans, 2005). Moreover, irrespective of calls for a
Youssef & Luthans, 2005). We examine resilience as a key psychologi- positive psychological approach to managing human resources, few

cal capacity for enhancing employee well-being and performance firms see resilience as something that can be developed proactively as

(Luthans, Avey, Avolio, & Peterson, 2010). Despite this growing inter- part of HRM to improve individual well-being and performance

est, the academic and practitioner understanding of the process (Wang, Cooke, & Huang, 2014). Few firms provide resilience training
as skills and competencies to be developed or for that matter view
through which HRM practices effect the well-being and performance
the development of a resilient workforce through HRM practices as a
of employees is underdeveloped, as Guest (2017) argued. Moreover,
means to compete in the marketplace (Cooke et al., 2016).
we do not know the precise relationships through which HRM dedi-
Similarly, despite the importance of a resilient workforce to sup-
cated well-being practices, especially across organizational levels
port a sustainable workplace, particularly in highly competitive and
(e.g., hierarchies) and the social processes that may influence
complex service industries like banking, there remains limited knowl-
employee attitudes and behaviors and, ultimately, their performance
edge about the relationships among well-being-oriented HRM prac-
(Boxall et al., 2011; Boxall & Purcell, 2011; Evans & Davis, 2005;
tices, social climate, employee resilience, and employee performance.
Kehoe & Wright, 2013; Wright & Haggerty, 2005). Within this body
Based on an extensive literature search, the authors could not find
of research, scholars have shown social processes such as perceived
any study that specifically empirically examined the impact of social
organizational support (Liao, Toya, Lepak, & Hong, 2009), relational
climate on employee resilience. Following Prieto and Santana (2012),
coordination (Gittell & Douglass, 2012), and concern for employee cli-
we examine the process through which well-being-oriented HRM
mate (Takeuchi, Chen, & Lepak, 2009) can mediate the influence of
practices impact the broader social context that shapes employee per-
HRM on a range of outcomes.
ceptions of social climate and its effect on their resilience. Using a
One other potentially fruitful approach to understanding the
multilevel approach, our study is the first to our knowledge to unpack
HRM performance link has been the mediating role of social climate
the social mechanisms through which well-being-oriented HRM prac-
(Chuang & Liao, 2010; Collins & Smith, 2006; Prieto & Santana, 2012).
tices may support the development of resilience and subsequent
Social climate is defined as “the collective set of norms, values, and
employee (in-role or task) performance at the workplace, namely by
beliefs that express employees' views of how they interact with one influencing group feelings of social climate as operationalized through
another while carrying out tasks for the firm” (Collins & Smith, 2006, trust, cooperation, and shared codes and language that exist among
p. 547). Following Collins and Smith (2006), in this article, we charac- individuals within an organization. We examine these relationships
terize and operationalize social climate by trust, cooperation, and using positive psychology (Seligman, 2002) and positive organizational
shared codes and language that exist among individuals within an behavior (POB) approaches (Luthans, 2002a), given that they empha-
organizational context. We draw on social information processing the- size developing human resource strengths and psychological capaci-
ory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978) and the work of Schneider (1983) to ties of which employee well-being, resilience, and social connectivity
argue shared perceptions provide powerful cues for individuals are important concepts. This expands our understanding of the impor-
regarding appropriate and desired behavior, and performance expec- tant role of resilience in the HRM-performance relationship.
tations within an organizational setting. In line with Wright and Hagg- As an empirical site for the study, the banking sector presents an
erty (2005) and Guest (2017), we argue well-being-oriented HRM ideal context to explore employee resilience and its relationship with
practices may impact employee resilience through social mechanisms well-being-oriented HRM practices. An essential component of a suc-
such as social climate, which promote trust and cooperation. cessful banking industry is the sustainable and effective management
The continued interest in HRM-performance research is driven by of its employees. However, heightened global competition and strate-
increased global competition, technology advancement in the infor- gies adopted by banks are subjecting their employees to growing per-
mation age, and the increased provision of complex services and formance pressure, and therefore HRM practices that support
goods. Given this increase in competitive organizational pressures and employee well-being and their subsequent resilience may be an
fast-paced change in many organizations, particularly in service indus- important path to meet performance expectations. Therefore, our
tries (e.g., the banking sector), many employees are faced with work study addresses a key question: how do well-being-oriented HRM
intensification and increased pressure to meet targets, which may practices impact banking employees' resilience and performance?
negatively impact their health, well-being, and job performance This study contributes to existing knowledge in three ways. First,
(Bardoel, Pettit, De Cieri, & McMillan, 2014; Cooke, Cooper, Bartram, we link well-being-oriented HRM practices, including training and
Wang, & Mei, 2016). Consequently, there is a growing body of litera- development, job security, information sharing practices, supportive
ture informed by positive psychology (Luthans, 2002a, Luthans, 2012) relationships with immediate managers, aspects of employee voice
that suggests employee resilience, through HRM, may offer a such as input into how work is performed, aspects of quality work
COOPER ET AL. 87

such as autonomy, and the use of teams, with the development of environment (e.g., employment security and required and optional
employee resilience. This is important given the growing recognition social interaction), voice (e.g., extensive two-way communication), and
in the management and positive psychology literature of the chal- organizational support (e.g., participative and supportive manage-
lenges associated with employee well-being at the workplace and the ment). Guest (2017) identifies a number of reasons why the earlier
need for HRM practices to enhance employee resilience through HRM practices will enhance employee well-being. First, improving
building HR strengths and psychological capacities (Luthans, 2002b). employee knowledge, skills, and abilities through training and devel-
Second, we extend the theoretical frameworks in HRM, namely opment, mentoring, and career support is critical to enhancing
through a positive psychology perspective to examine empirically employee competence, security, and self-efficacy, which may thereby
whether or how well-being-oriented HRM practices can be used to contribute to feelings of well-being. Second, organizations need to
build a resilient workforce as a strategic vehicle to enhance the per- provide engaging work to enhance employees' autonomy, skill utiliza-
formance of employees through creating a “win-win situation.” We do tion, and task variety, which have been well documented to enhance
this using a social (i.e., social climate) lens (informed by social informa- employee well-being. Third, HRM practices should provide a positive
tion processing theory), as well as a multilevel approach. Third, this social and physical environment through the provision of a safe work-
study is innovative because we conceptualize employee resilience as a place, employment security, and opportunities for social interactions.
developable skill that can be impacted by management practices and Fourth, HRM practices should also promote extensive two-way com-
social processes. Through a conceptualization of employee resilience munication and opportunities for individuals to express their voice.
as developable, we contribute to a better understanding of the multi- Fifth, organizations need to develop HRM practices that promote
level processes through which well-being-oriented HRM practices organizational support including participative and supportive man-
can enhance employee resilience and contribute to employee agers, which are well known in the quality of work–life literature to
performance. enhance employee well-being (Guest, 2017).
There is mounting evidence from positive psychology that posi-
tively developing HR strengths and psychological capacities are asso-
2 | T H E O R E T I C A L F R A M E W O RK ciated with employee well-being and subsequent performance
(Youssef & Luthans, 2005). We draw upon positive psychology and
2.1 | Well-being-oriented HRM practices POB to underpin our theoretical examination of how well-being-
oriented HRM practices, through social climate, impact employee
Despite the lack of agreement and continued debate regarding the
resilience and ultimately individual performance. Positive psychology
“right” composition of strategic HRM bundles (Boxall & Purcell, 2011;
is defined as “building the best qualities in life … we must bring the
Posthuma, Campion, Masimova, & Campion, 2013), it is widely building of strength to the forefront in the treatment and prevention
accepted the components should be multiple and mutually reinforcing of mental illness” (Seligman, 2002, p. 3). Luthans (2002a, p. 59) applies
(Bartram, Karimi, Stanton, & Leggat, 2014; Zacharatos, Barling, & Iver- positive psychology to the workplace to develop POB, which is
son, 2005). Contemporary HRM research asserts that for HRM to be defined as “the study and application of positively oriented human
both ethical and sustainable, mutual gain must be created for both resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured,
management and employees (Valizade, Ogbonnaya, Tregaskis, & developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in
Forde, 2016; Van de Voorde, Paauwe, & van Veldhoven, 2012; Wood, today's workplace.” Resilience and the process through which it is
van Veldhoven, Croon, & De Menezes, 2012). Research findings on developed, according to Luthans, Vogelgesang, and Lester (2006),
the extent to which HRM and its various incarnations, that is, high- meet the POB criteria given they are positive and strength-based,
performance work systems (HPWSs), high-involvement work systems underpinned by theory and research, and are statelike and develop-
(HIWSs), or high-commitment work systems (HCWSs), promote indi- able (see later).
vidual performance at the expense of employee well-being are mixed In this study, we consider a number of practices identified by
(see Guest, 2017). For example, Jensen, Patel, and Messersmith Guest (2017) as representative of well-being-oriented HRM practices
(2013) reported HPWS was associated with work intensification, and associated with building employee resilience, especially within the
which in turn led to work-related stress. Moreover, Wood Chinese banking sector (c.f., Bardoel et al., 2014; Cooke et al., 2016;
et al. (2012) found high-involvement work practices were associated Wang et al., 2014). These practices comprise training and develop-
with performance but negatively associated with employee well- ment/learning, use of teams, information sharing, job security, rela-
being. Given the growing evidence of the economic, ethical, and tionship with the immediate manager, and quality work (defined as
health benefits of employee well-being at the workplace, we use appropriate workload, role clarity, and employee control). We select
Guest's (2017) well-being-oriented HRM approach to examine the these particular well-being-oriented HRM practices because they are
process through which HRM practices impact employee performance. employee-oriented, relationship-building driven, with employees'
Guest (2017) suggests there are three main facets of well-being, development needs and well-being at heart. It is important to note
which include psychological, physical, and social functioning. Guest there is evidence to suggest HRM practices, for example, those that
develops a bundle of HRM practices that are likely to promote promote employees perceiving work overload, pressure to work lon-
employee well-being. Guest's (2017) well-being-oriented HRM prac- ger hours, and where managers place greater demand on their per-
tices include investing in employees (e.g., training and development), sonal time, can lead to negative employee outcomes such as job stress
providing engaging work (e.g., job designed to provide autonomy and (Macky & Boxall, 2008) and emotional exhaustion (Zhang, Zhu, Dowl-
challenge, information provision), a positive social and physical ing, & Bartram, 2013). Bardoel et al. (2014) argue the aforementioned
88 COOPER ET AL.

HRM practices that promote employee resilience will “inoculate” role in developing employees' resilience (Luthans, 2012; Moenke-
employees against job stress and emotional exhaustion and promote meyer, Hoegl, & Weiss, 2012).
employee well-being. The use of HRM practices to develop resilience skills among
employees may foster greater individual flexibility, persistence, and

2.2 | Resilience motivation in the face of complex, competitive, and dynamic environ-
ments (Luthans et al., 2007; Peterson, Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, &
The concept of resilience emerged in the 1970s, initially in the clinical
Zhang, 2011). Underpinned by the work of Masten (2001) and Fre-
research context, and started to gain research attention in the organi-
drickson (2002), Luthans et al. (2006) put forward two approaches
zational management field from the 1990s (e.g., Ollier-Malaterre,
through which human resource development (HRD) may enable
2010; Robertson & Cooper, 2011). One main perspective in the
employee resilience: proactive and reactive approaches. These
research on individual resilience in the organizational context is
approaches are based on a proactive assessment of risks and personal
related to the field of positive psychology, represented by Luthans
assets that may impact an individual's performance at the workplace.
and colleagues. Luthans (2002a, p. 59) considers resilience as one of
Masten (2001) argues as individuals increase their assets (e.g., well-
the four components of psychological capital (PsyCap) (self-efficacy,
being-oriented HRM practices and social capital through a strong social
hope, optimism, and resilience), which can be “measured, developed,
climate) they may perceive a decrease in their exposure to risk
and effectively managed for performance improvement.” Resilience
(e.g., fear of losing their job). Luthans et al. (2006) propose three areas
enables both recovery from negative events and proactive learning
of focus (i.e., risk, asset, and process strategies) for a proactive HRD
and growth for future challenges (Youssef & Luthans, 2005). Further-
approach. First, a proactive approach to building employee resilience
more, Luthans, Avolio, Avey, and Norman (2007) suggest resilience is
through the reduction of risk and stress may mitigate the potential for
“state-like,” meaning that it is relatively malleable and open to devel-
adverse events. This may be achieved through developing a strong
opment. According to Avey, Luthans, and Jensen (2009, p. 682), resil-
organizational culture created by “developing trust and reciprocity
ience is “arguably the most important positive resource for navigating
between the organization and its leadership and the employee
a turbulent and stressful workplace.” A central argument here is the
employees” (Luthans et al., 2006, p. 33). We argue later well-being-
need for organizations to adopt a more positive approach to managing
oriented HRM practices such as supportive leadership, job security, and
their human resources, through the proactive management of their
an extensive use of teams may facilitate a climate of trust and collabo-
psychological capital, instead of adopting a dominant negative per-
ration within the organization. Moreover, an asset-focused strategy
spective that focuses on occupational stress (Avey et al., 2009).
that relies on enhancing individual and organizational resources is criti-
Both theory and prior research support our argument that resil-
cal to developing both human and social capital (Luthans et al., 2006)
ience is developable, for example, through training and development
and the subsequent resiliency of employees. We argue well-being-
(Luthans et al., 2007; Masten & Reed, 2002; Wang et al., 2014). There
oriented HRM practices that emphasize training, development, and
is substantial clinical research that has “established that both external
learning, as well as supportive leadership and information sharing, con-
(contextual) and internal (psychological) characteristics influence one's
tribute to building individual and social capital in the workplace.
capacity for resilience” (Luthans et al., 2006, p. 28). Masten's (2001,
The reactive approach according to Luthans et al. (2006) draws
p. 235) seminal study concludes that “resilience does not come from
from positive psychologist Fredrickson's (2002) “broaden and build”
rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary,
model of positive emotions, which emphasizes positive thinking and
normative human resources …This has profound implications for pro-
finding meaning in negative events. Fredrickson (2002) argues positive
moting competence and human capital in individuals and society.”
emotions can be durable and may add to a “storehouse of personal
Importantly, there is growing evidence of a demonstrable impact of
assets,” which can then be relied upon when resilience is required. We
resilience on performance at the workplace (e.g., Cooke et al., 2016; argue well-being-oriented HRM practices can be used to build posi-
Coutu, 2002; Luthans et al., 2006). tive experiences for organizational members (e.g., a social climate of
trust and collaboration) leading to increased thought-action skills,
2.3 | Well-being-oriented HRM and employee which may enhance resilience. Luthans et al. (2006, p. 37) suggest
resilience “getting employees to exhibit positive emotions and their ability to
trigger an ‘upward-spiral’ that can increase their resilience would seem
Recently, researchers have started to explore the relationship
to be an effective reactive HRD strategy.” Well-being-oriented HRM
between HRM practices and the resilience of employees (e.g., Bardoel
practices that promote investing in employees, engaging work, posi-
et al., 2014; Lengnick-Hall, Beck, & Lengnick-Hall, 2011; Luthans
tive social environment, employee voice, and organizational support
et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2014). Following Bardoel et al. (2014), we
mechanisms should also increase the development of employees'
argue the effect of well-being-oriented HRM practices on employee
perception of influence.
resilience can be explained through positive psychology (Fredrickson,
2002; Luthans, 2002a; Luthans et al., 2006; Masten, 2001). Positive
psychologists assert when developed and effectively managed, resil-
2.4 | Social climate
ience skills can enhance individual responses to stressful and challeng- An important part of understanding employee resilience is considering
ing circumstances (Youssef & Luthans, 2005). HRM may play a critical the interaction between workers and their environment, particularly
COOPER ET AL. 89

social systems in which these workers operate (Coutu, 2002; trust, and cooperative networks among employees and managers
Lengnick-Hall et al., 2011). Social context is “an integral ingredient (Collins & Smith, 2006). The relationship between well-being-oriented
enabling the kinds of behaviors and mental models that lead to resil- HRM practices and social climate can be explained through social
ience” (Lengnick-Hall et al., 2011, p. 247). The process of acquiring, information processing theory (Aryee, Walumbwa, Seidu, & Otaye,
transferring, and integrating valuable knowledge within organizations 2012; Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). Salancik and Pfeffer (1978) argue the
generally takes place through social interaction (Kang, Morris, & Snell, social environment provides cues that individuals may use to con-
2007; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). In the following discussion, we out- struct and interpret events regarding desirable organizational attitudes
line the process through which well-being-oriented HRM practices and behaviors. The social context provides a construction of meaning
are likely to shape the development of social climate, which, in turn, through which organizations promote socially acceptable attitudes
may impact employee resilience. and behaviors. The use of HRM by managers provides a contextual
Collins and Smith (2006, p. 547) define social climate as “the col- cue for employees that enable them to psychologically interpret their
lective set of norms, values, beliefs that express employees' views of work environment (Aryee et al., 2012). HRM practices enable man-
how they interact with one another while carrying out tasks for their agers to focus employees' attention on critical information and associ-
firm.” More broadly, social climate refers to the “network of relation- ated desired behavior and its consequences. For example, well-being-
ships that exists among individuals in some group and to the assets oriented HRM practices (such as information sharing, a positive rela-
that are mobilized through the network of social relationships” tionship with the immediate manager, team work, and quality work)
(Prieto & Santana, 2012, p. 193). Social climate is characterized by may build a social climate of trust and cooperation and facilitate
trust, cooperation, and shared codes and language that exist among knowledge exchange and human capital development that enhance
individuals within an organization (c.f., Collins & Smith, 2006; Naha- employees' resilience.
piet & Ghoshal, 1998). In line with Collins and Smith (2006), we argue Well-being-oriented HRM practices, especially through enhancing
well-being-oriented HRM practices support the building of trust and employee knowledge, skills and abilities, engaging work, a positive
cooperation and foster the commonality of purpose among managers social environment, and supportive leadership, are likely to increase
and employees within organizations. Extant research has illustrated the norms of cooperation by emphasizing the importance of individual
the additive effects of HRM on building social climate to facilitate effort toward the achievement of group goals. This may increase the
knowledge exchange (Prieto & Santana, 2012) and the development prevalence of shared values and common purpose among managers
of intellectual and social capital (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). These and employees (Collins & Smith, 2006). Building shared codes and lan-
practices are likely to be valuable in the development of resilience as guage through HRM practices that encourage employee voice and
an ability or skill, as individuals learn not only through formalized and management support of employees is important within organizations
purposeful skills training but also through social interaction and coop- to enhance individuals' ability to communicate more effectively
eration with their colleagues and managers (Bartram et al., 2014). (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998) and consequently the social network
Drawing from the earlier discussion, our multilevel conceptual (Youssef & Luthans, 2005). Semiautonomous work teams may also
model (see Figure 1), underpinned by positive psychology and a social facilitate the development of trust through the improvement of a
relational perspective, provides an analytical approach to understand shared cognitive ability in which individuals' self-efficacy and per-
how relationships between well-being-oriented HRM practices and ceived self-efficacy of others are increased (Bonnano, 2005). This cre-
individual performance outcomes are transmitted in turn through ates a greater opportunity for communication and interaction
social climate and employee resilience. between managers and employees within the organization, further
supporting the development of trust through strong social networks
(Collins & Smith, 2006; Luthans et al., 2006). Well-being-oriented
3 | HYPOTHESES
HRM practices such as training and development as well as internal
social events may facilitate the development of shared codes and lan-
3.1 | Well-being-oriented HRM and social climate guage (Collins & Smith, 2016). Moreover, shared codes and language
We contend well-being-oriented HRM practices can be instrumental are likely to be improved by creating greater opportunities for com-
in the development of a social climate based on shared cognitions, munication, interdependent and frequent interactions (Gagné, 2009),

WBHRM Social climate

Branch

Individual Employee Employee

resilience performance

FIGURE 1 Hypothesized multilevel mediation model. Note. WBHRM = well-being-oriented HRM practices
90 COOPER ET AL.

knowledge sharing among individuals (Zacharatos et al., 2005), and 3.3 | Employee resilience and employee
support of one another (Collins & Smith, 2006). performance
Previous empirical research has demonstrated HRM practices
Avey, Reichard, Luthans, and Mhatre (2011) argue resilience may
are positively associated with social climate. Collins and Smith's
motivate employees to exert additional effort to succeed, which, in
(2006) study specifically highlighted trust, cooperation, and shared
turn, may increase performance. An extensive literature search has
codes and language as the key dimensions of social climate. Collins
revealed very little research on the relationship between employee
and Smith (2006) found commitment-oriented HRM practices were
resilience and performance (Luthans et al., 2010). However, Luthans
positively associated with the three aforementioned dimensions of
and colleagues examine the impact of PsyCap more broadly on
social climate. In addition, Prieto and Santana (2012) reported high-
employee attitudinal and behavioral outcomes including employee
involvement HRM practices were positively associated with social
performance (Avey et al., 2011; Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, & Li,
climate within organizations.
2005; Luthans et al., 2010).
Based on theory and previous research, we propose the following
In the face of adversity and setbacks, resilient employees tend to
hypothesis:
respond positively and with perseverance (Avey et al., 2011; Peterson
Hypothesis 1: Well-being-oriented HRM practices are et al., 2011). This argument not only applies to the Western context,
positively related to social climate. but also in the Chinese setting. For example, Luthans et al. (2005)
reported a positive relationship between the resilience of Chinese
workers who were undergoing substantial organizational changes and
3.2 | Well-being-oriented HRM-social climate-
their performance. In light of this research, we argue employee resil-
employee resilience ience may act as a conduit between social climate and employee per-
We propose social climate may act as an important conduit for well- formance. We hypothesize:
being-oriented HRM practices to impact employee resilience. As
Hypothesis 3: Employee resilience is positively
noted earlier, well-being-oriented HRM practices are likely to be more related to employee performance.
important in building a social climate of trust and cooperation. This
process may support an employees' ability to exchange and combine Hypothesis 4: Employee resilience mediates the
information, which in turn may increase their personal assets and relationship between social climate and employee
resiliency (Masten, 2001; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Trust and coop- performance.
eration within organizations may increase the likelihood of informa-
tion, knowledge, and ideas sharing among employees. Shared codes
and language may facilitate information and knowledge exchange 4 | METHOD
(Collins & Smith, 2006) and the building of social capital (Luthans
et al., 2006). This theorizing lays the basis through which social cli- 4.1 | Sample and procedure
mate may influence the development of employee resilience. Social
The data of this article are drawn from a survey conducted in 62 bank
climate may also be associated with creating a sense of meaning
branches of 16 banks during 2014–2015 in Chengdu and Chongqing,
through a strong value system (Coutu, 2002). High levels of trust
two major cities in the southwestern region of China. These two cities
between employees' and their immediate manager may be an impor-
were chosen because they are highly populated strategic regional cap-
tant antecedent to employee resilience. We suggest that employees
itals for regional development with a strong finance sector. They are
who trust their colleagues and managers who they deem capable and
also less well covered by research studies of HRM in China, which
skilled are more likely to feel supported, able to get assistance, and be
have thus far focused primarily on the more developed eastern
treated fairly (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995). Positive interactions
regions (Cooke, 2009; Wang et al., 2014). Access to the bank
at work and improved relationships contribute to increased personal
branches to conduct the surveys was gained through institutional and
assets, and possibly perceived risk mitigation and ultimately resilience
personal networks. The branches were selected to represent different
(Masten, 2001).
districts in each city, but there was a relatively high concentration in
Lengnick-Hall et al. (2011) argue HR principles that encourage
the city center and commercially active areas. This choice of locations
social interactions within the organization, such as nurturing a climate
reflects the fact that these areas are busier with higher levels of cus-
of reciprocal trust and interdependence, and organizational citizen-
tomer flows, higher levels of transaction activities, and therefore
ship, may facilitate greater employee resilience. Moreover, broad
higher levels of performance pressure and employee resilience
resource networks associated with social climate enable individuals to
required to deal with these work situations.
develop relationships with one another to share critical resources such
We collected survey data from two sources (branch managers
as employee resilience skills and strategies (Lengnick-Hall et al., 2011).
and their employees) and with temporal separation across two time
Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:
points (6 months) to minimize the risk of common method variance
Hypothesis 2: Social climate mediates the relationship (CMV) (Podsakoff, McKenzie, & Podsakoff, 2012). The questionnaires
between well-being-oriented HRM practices and were designed by the research team in English and then translated
employee resilience. into Chinese and back into English by the bilingual members of the
COOPER ET AL. 91

team and two independent researchers, using the back-translation items, e.g., “This branch provides me with job security”); training and
procedure (Brislin, 1970). To ensure the measures were culturally valid development/learning (five items, e.g., “This branch has provided me
and reliable, a pilot was conducted with 40 bank employees and with training opportunities enabling me to extend my range of skills
four bank managers in December 2014. The questionnaires were then and abilities”); job quality (five items, e.g., “Fostering involvement in
modified and finalized to ensure the expression of each question decision-making at all levels of this branch is important”); information
could be easily and correctly understood by the respondents. This pre- sharing (six items, e.g., “Information about how well my branch is doing
test also allowed us to obtain insights into employees' resilience and financially is shared with me”); use of teams (five items: e.g., “My
HR practice of the banking industry in China and provide an assess- branch places a great deal of importance on team development”); and
ment of the items' face validity and likely reliability of the data that relationship with immediate manager (five items, e.g., “My immediate
would be collected (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2003). manager encourages me to express my ideas and opinions”).
In the first wave (conducted in December, 2014), each branch Employees rated each of the 31 items on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly
manager was given 15 paper-based questionnaires (with a return enve- disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Following other studies (e.g., Kehoe &
lope) and asked to distribute them to their employees randomly. We Wright, 2013), we created an additive index by summing the 31 items.
provided 15 questionnaires even though most of the teams supervised The resulting index, which ranges from 31 to 155, measures
by a particular supervisor/manager in a branch were smaller than that. employees' perceptions of the extent to which well-being-oriented
In many teams, most of, if not all, the team members available would HRM practices are present in the branch. The use of an additive
have filled in the questionnaire. Each employee was allowed 30 min to approach is consistent with the arguments of Youndt, Snell, Dean, and
complete the questionnaire during their work time. Employees were Lepak (1996) that organizations can improve performance either by
asked to put their completed questionnaire in the envelope provided increasing the number of HRM practices they employ or by using the
and seal it. The researchers went to each site to collect the completed practices in a more widespread manner. The Cronbach alpha coeffi-
employee questionnaires 2 weeks after they were distributed. cient for the measure was .89.
In the second wave, 6 months after the first wave, paper-based Social climate was measured using the 10-item scale developed by
questionnaires (with a return envelope inside) were distributed to the Prieto and Santana (2012). An example item is “Employees in the
62 managers to obtain their ratings of the surveyed employees' per- branch share a commonality of purpose and collective aspirations with
formance. Both the employee and manager questionnaires were others at work.” Employees rated each item on a 5-point scale
coded to ensure their responses could be matched. The researchers (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Higher scores indicate a
went to each site to collect the completed manager questionnaires a more positive social climate. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the
week after they were distributed. All participants were assured their scale was .94.
responses were confidential and were informed of the voluntary Employee resilience was measured using the 3-item resilience sub-
nature of participation. scale from the PsyCap Questionnaire (PCQ 12), which is an abridged
In all, 561 matched employee-manager responses were received version of the original scale developed by Luthans et al. (2007).
from the 62 branches (an average of approximately 9 employees per Employees rated the three items on a 6-point scale (1 = strongly dis-
branch). These 561 matched employee-manager responses represent agree, 6 = strongly agree). The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the
an overall response rate of 95%. This high response rate was achieved scale was .76.
for several reasons. First, there are good institutional and personal Employee (in-role) performance was measured using the 7-item
connections with the bank branches participating in the study. Sec- scale developed by Williams and Anderson (1991). An example item is
ond, one of the authors went to each of these bank branches with a “This person adequately completes assigned duties.” Managers rated
research assistant and explained carefully the purpose and require- their subordinates for each of the items on a 5-point scale
ments of the study and its benefits to the bank. Third, reminders were (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The Cronbach alpha coeffi-
sent to the managers responsible for collecting the questionnaires. In cient for the scale was .86.
some cases, the researchers, when they went to the branch to collect Control variables: We included employee age (coded on a 6-point
the returned questionnaires, waited for the remaining employees and ordinal scale from 1 = <25 years to 6 = 65 years and over), gender
the manager to complete their questionnaires to ensure a high (coded 1 = male, 0 = female), and hours worked per normal week as
response rate. controls in line with previous research (Cooke et al., 2016). We did
Of the 561 employees, just over half (53%) were female and most not control for organizational tenure as it was highly correlated with
(85%) were aged under 30 years. The mean hours worked per normal age (r = .73). We also controlled for branch size in our analyses (Liao
week were reported to be 45.43 (SD = 7.33, median = 45). The mean et al., 2009).
organizational tenure was 5.06 years (SD = 5.84, median = 3).

4.3 | Method of analysis

4.2 | Measures The present dataset was multilevel in nature, consisting of
Well-being-oriented HRM practices were measured with employee rat- 561 employees nested within 62 bank branches, which, in turn, were
ings. Specifically, as noted earlier, we focused on the following six nested within 16 banks. Hence, multilevel modeling using Mplus 7.4
dimensions that capture well-being-oriented HRM practices drawn (Muthén & Muthén, Los Angeles, CA, USA) with robust maximum like-
from the work of Zacharatos et al. (2005): employment security (five lihood estimation was used with random intercepts specified at both
92 COOPER ET AL.

branch and bank levels. We followed the procedures for testing cross- overstate the use of HRM practices within their organization
level mediation with a participant-level mediator as outlined in Pituch (Ostroff & Bowen, 2016). Furthermore, Kehoe and Wright (2013)
and Stapleton (2012). To test the hypothesized indirect (mediated) argue an effective HRM creates a collective or a group understanding
effect, we used a Monte Carlo simulation with the recommended of HRM practices. Moreover, for individual and organizational perfor-
20,000 random replications (Preacher & Selig, 2012). A Monte Carlo mance to be enhanced, HRM theory requires consistency of
simulation is a flexible and powerful method of constructing confi- employees' perceptions and similar reactions to HRM practices as
dence intervals (CIs) for indirect effects, as it can be used where boot- implemented at the group level (Kehoe & Wright, 2013).
strapping is not feasible, such as with multilevel data. Hence, we examined whether well-being-oriented HRM practices
and social climate were appropriate for consideration as branch-level
constructs. The mean within-group measure of agreement (as
5 | RESULTS measured by rwg and assuming a uniform null distribution) for the
well-being-oriented HRM practices scale was .98 and .97 for the
5.1 | Construct validity social climate scale, exceeding the recommended .70 cutoff value and
indicating a high level of within-group agreement (LeBreton & Senter,
To test construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the
2008). The intraclass correlation (ICC1) values (which measure the
measures of well-being-oriented HRM practices (specified as a higher-
proportion of between group variation) for well-being-oriented HRM
order factor), social climate, employee resilience, and employee per-
practices and social climate were .21 and .20, respectively. The ICC2
formance was conducted. We used robust maximum likelihood esti- values (which measure the reliability of the aggregated group means)
mation for the CFA as it is robust to nonnormality and for well-being-oriented HRM practices and social climate were .72
nonindependence of observations (Rhemtulla, Brosseau-Liard, & Sava- and .71, respectively. Taken together, these results show there is a
lei, 2012). The hypothesized 4-factor CFA yielded an acceptable fit to reliable variation across branches and sufficient within-group agree-
the data χ 2 (df = 293) = 729; root mean square error of approxima- ment to aggregate well-being-oriented HRM practices and social cli-
tion (RMSEA) = .05; Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = .90; Comparative Fit mate scores to the branch level.
Index (CFI) = .91. A 3-factor model combining well-being-oriented
HRM practices and social climate yielded a poorer fit to the data χ 2
5.3 | Multilevel modeling
(df = 296) = 1,007; RMSEA = .07; TLI = .84; and CFI = .85, as did a
3-factor model combining social climate and employee resilience, χ 2 Table 1 presents the means, SDs, and correlations of the study vari-
(df = 296) = 943; RMSEA = .06; TLI = .85; and CFI = .87. Finally, a ables. Correlations among the study variables were in the expected
1-factor measurement model (where all indicators loaded onto a single direction. Prior to conducting our analyses, it was necessary to dem-
factor) resulted in a very poor fit, χ (df = 299) = 2,150, RMSEA = .11;
2 onstrate sufficient between-group variance in the dependent variables
TLI = .58; and CFI = .62. Taken together, these results provide good (employee resilience and performance) to justify multilevel modeling.
evidence for construct validity of the measures used in this study. The ICC1 values at the branch level were .19 for employee resilience
and .36 for employee performance, respectively. The ICC1 values at
the bank level were .05 for employee resilience and .21 for employee
5.2 | Aggregation tests
performance, respectively. It is important to note that ICC1 values as
As noted earlier, we conceptualized well-being-oriented HRM prac- small as .05 can significantly bias SEs in regression analyses that fail to
tices and social climate as collectively experienced or shared con- take into account the nonindependence (or clustering) of observations
structs at the group (branch) level. We use this approach given the (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). The ICC1 of .36, for employee perfor-
evidence to suggest single-source responses from HR managers, par- mance at the branch level, represents a large effect by conventional
ticularly when gathered at the corporate level, may be unreliable standards (LeBreton & Senter, 2008) and indicates that 36% of the
(e.g., Chang, 2005; Takeuchi et al., 2009) and HR managers may variance in performance ratings was between branches and 64%

TABLE 1 Means, SDs, and correlations among the study variables

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Employee performance 4.00 0.54
2 WBHRM 105.25 8.24 .19**
3 Employee resilience 4.36 0.77 .18** .23**
4 Social climate 3.67 0.37 .02 .31** .16**
5 Gender 0.47 0.50 −.05 .06 .04 −.01
6 Age 2.00 0.67 .09* .15** .04 −.16** .11**
7 Hours worked 45.43 7.33 −.02 −.06 −.11** −.18** .13** −.06
8 Branch size 2.82 0.96 .06 .01 .06 −.10* −.08 .01 .02

Note: Gender coded 1 = male, 0 = female. Age coded 1 = < 25 years to 6 = 65 years and over. Branch size coded 1 = < 5 employees to 5 = > 50
employees. WBHRM = well-being-oriented HRM practices. Branch-level variables (Size, WBHRM and social climate) are assigned down to correlate with
employee-level variables. N = 561 employees within 62 branches and 16 banks.
*p < .05 **p < .01
COOPER ET AL. 93

within branches. Despite the relatively large amount of between- TABLE 2 Results of multilevel-mediated regression analyses
branch variance, we conceptualize employee performance as a lower- Dependent variables
level dependent variable, as it can vary both within and across groups Model 1 Model 2
(e.g., branches) and our multilevel analyses partition and model the Employee Employee
resilience performance
variance at these levels.
Level-1
Hypothesis 1 predicted well-being-oriented HRM practices are
Age .03 (.07) .02 (.05)
positively related to social climate, both operationalized at the branch
Gender .06 (.03) −.01 (.05)
level. As noted earlier, we collected data from two sources and with a
Hours worked −.09 (.07) −.03 (.06)
6-month temporal separation between employee performance and
the remaining variables to minimize the risk of CMV. Nevertheless, in Employee resilience .14* (.07)

a multilevel study, aggregate-level correlations can still be impacted Level-2

by shared biases (Ostroff, Kinicki, & Clark, 2002). Hence, following Branch size .07* (.03) .05 (.08)

Ostroff et al. (2002), we split the samples into half when computing WBHRM .19** (.06) .01 (.07)

the aggregate correlations. Specifically, we randomly selected 50% of Social climate .14** (.05) .12 (.07)

employees within each branch to construct the well-being-oriented R2 .09 .05

HRM practices scores for each of the branches, and the remaining Note: Standardized regression coefficients reported with robust SEs in
50% provided the social climate scores. Using this aggregate–split parentheses. R2 based on total variance explained. N = 561 employees
within 62 branches and 16 banks. WBHRM = well-being-oriented HRM
level procedure and controlling for the branch size, there was a posi- practices.
tive relationship between well-being-oriented HRM practices and *p < .05 **p < .01
social climate (β = .31, p < .01). Hence, Hypothesis 1 was supported.
Having established well-being-oriented HRM practices were posi- resilience. Although inferences of complete mediation must be made
tively associated with social climate, we examined which of the six with caution, the direct effect of well-being-oriented HRM practices
dimensions was most influential in that relationship. In order of magni- on employee performance was not statistically significant (β = 01,
tude, we found relationship with immediate manager (β = .28, p > .05; see Model 2), and nor was the effect of social climate on
p < .01), followed by information sharing (β = .25, p < .01) and job employee performance (β = .12, p > .05), suggesting full mediation.
security (β = .25, p < .01), use of teams (β = .22, p < .01), training and
development/learning (β = .21, p < .01), and job quality
(β = .19, p < .01). 6 | DI SCU SSION
Table 2 presents the results from the multilevel regression ana-
lyses that tested Hypotheses 2–4 (see also Figure 2 for a summary). This study examined the relationships among well-being-oriented
There was a positive cross-level relationship between social climate HRM practices, social climate, employee resilience, and employee (in-
and employee resilience (β = .14, p < .01). Hypothesis 2 predicted role) performance. Overall, the results provide support for our hypoth-
social climate mediates the relationship between well-being-oriented eses. First, consistent with Hypothesis 1, we found a positive relation-
HRM practices and employee resilience. A Monte Carlo CI for the ship between well-being-oriented HRM practices and social climate.
standardized indirect effect of well-being-oriented HRM practices on Second, consistent with Hypothesis 2, social climate (partially) medi-
employee resilience though social climate was .04 (95% CI = .01 to ated the relationship between well-being-oriented HRM practices and
.08). As zero is not contained in the 95% CI for the indirect effect, employee resilience. Third, consistent with Hypothesis 3 we found a
Hypothesis 2 was supported. positive relationship between employee resilience and employee per-
Hypothesis 3 predicted employee resilience is positively related formance. Finally, we found support for Hypothesis 4, that is
to employee performance. As shown in Table 2 (Model 2), in support employee resilience (fully) mediated the relationship between social
of Hypothesis 3, there was a positive relationship between employee climate and employee performance.
resilience and employee performance, β = .14, p < .05. Note as we
collected data for employee resilience and employee performance at
6.1 | Theoretical contributions
two separate time points and from two sources of data, this
strengthens our confidence that resilience is an antecedent of This study makes a number of related contributions. First, our study
employee performance. identifies a key social mechanism through which well-being-oriented
Finally, Hypothesis 4 predicted employee resilience mediates the HRM practices support the development of resilience at the work-
relationship between social climate and employee performance. A place, namely through influencing group feelings of social climate as
Monte Carlo CI for the standardized indirect effect of social climate related to trust, cooperation, and commonality of purpose by organi-
on employee performance via resilience was .02 (95% CI = .01 to .05). zational participants. We built on previous work of social processes as
As zero is not contained in the 95% CI for the indirect effect, Hypoth- mediating mechanisms (Collins & Smith, 2006; Liao et al., 2009;
esis 4 was supported. After controlling for social climate, there was a Takeuchi et al., 2009) by examining how social processes (e.g., social
positive direct relationship between well-being-oriented HRM prac- climate) affect employee resilience. There is some emerging but lim-
tices and employee resilience (β = .19, p < .01). This finding of partial ited evidence that employee resilience can be developed through not
mediation suggests social climate is not the only mechanism through only training interventions (Luthans et al., 2010) but also socially
which well-being-oriented HRM practices can influence employee through the use of teams, information sharing, and supportive
94 COOPER ET AL.

.31**
WBHRM Social climate

Branch .14**

Individual .19** Employee .14* Employee

resilience performance

FIGURE 2 Summary results of the multilevel mediation model. Note. Standardized regression coefficients reported. Only statistically significant
paths shown for the ease of presentation. WBHRM = well-being-oriented HRM practices. *p < .05 **p < .01

leadership (Cooke et al., 2016). Unpacking the link between well- support beneficial to improving employee well-being and perfor-
being-oriented HRM practices and employee performance through mance. We found, of the well-being-oriented HRM practices exam-
social climate and resilience is important given the evidence HRM ined, the relationship with immediate manager was most strongly
practices affect employees' knowledge, skills, and abilities and atti- related to social climate, followed by information sharing, job security,
tudes not only through individual but also through social mechanisms use of teams, training and development/learning, and job quality. Hav-
(Bartram et al., 2014; Evans & Davis, 2005; Kehoe & Wright, 2013; ing a resilient workforce is crucial to enhancing organizational compet-
Wright & Haggerty, 2005). This expands our understanding of valu- itiveness in an era of intensifying global competition, particularly in
able new mediators in the HRM-performance relationship. the banking sector where both work pressure and customer expecta-
Second, we have highlighted resilience as an important construct tions are rising, leading to relatively high levels of burnout and staff
in both the HRM literature and practice by demonstrating employee turnover (e.g., Hunter & Katz, 2012). By understanding the process
resilience is positively associated with employee performance. Our through which well-being-oriented HRM practices may impact
results support the efficacy of positive psychology to explain how employee resilience and subsequently employee performance, we are
HRM affects employee resilience in that well-being-oriented HRM able to provide guidance to banks and possibly other service-based
practices are associated with employees' resiliency assets or resources industries on their strategic HRM to achieve sustainable performance
(Bardoel et al., 2014; Luthans et al., 2006). In line with Luthans through enhanced employee resilience. To build a resilient workforce,
et al. (2010), our findings suggest resilient employees may increase managers need to consider building the strengths and psychological
their performance through enhanced social capital and personal assets capacities of organizational participants through well-being-oriented
associated with well-being-oriented HRM practices and a positive HRM practices, as well as the ensuring development of trust, coopera-
social climate. tion, and shared codes of conduct (Collins & Smith, 2006; Luthans,
Third, our study responds to the call for multilevel and multi- 2002a; Luthans et al., 2006). It is through this process that we argue
source research design and data collection (e.g., Guest & Conway, well-being-oriented HRM practices may enhance employee resilience.
2011) by aggregating employee responses to well-being-oriented We tentatively suggest other organizations, their managers, and
HRM practices and social climate to give a more realistic account of employees operating in intense competitive or stressful and challeng-
the overall nature of these constructs. We demonstrated multilevel ing work environments such as health care (e.g., doctors and nurses),
analysis is a fruitful approach to examining responses to well-being- first responders (e.g., police), and education (e.g., teachers) can learn
oriented HRM practices across organizational hierarchies. In addition, from our findings. Given the challenges of job stress, burnout, and
we minimized potential CMV by using supervisor ratings of subordi- employee retention (Bartram et al., 2014) among these occupational
nate performance and the use of temporal separation, as well as groups and industries, managing employee resilience may be a fruitful
through the use of an aggregate-split level approach (Ostroff et al., approach.
2002; Podsakoff et al., 2012).

6.3 | Limitations and future directions

6.2 | Practical implications Our study has several potential limitations. First, we examined well-
Findings from our study have a number of practical implications for being-oriented HRM practices in our research. These employee-
organizations within and beyond the banking industry. Specifically, centered HRM practices may have more positive impact than those
our study demonstrates the importance of an approach informed by that are organization-centered. As some HRM practices may have
positive psychology and implementing well-being-oriented HRM prac- negative impact on, or are harmful to, employee well-being
tices to develop and support a resilient workforce. Our approach pri- (e.g., Macky & Boxall, 2008; Mariappanadar, 2012), future studies may
marily focuses on enhancing employee resilience through a systematic adopt different types of HRM practices to assess their effects.
day-to-day well-being-oriented HRM system, rather than through for- Second, an important area for future research is to develop and
mal micro-level training interventions as used by other authors such validate comprehensive multi-item measures of well-being-oriented
as Luthans et al. (2010). By unpacking the complex social processes HRM practices to complement those used in the present study. Third,
through which well-being-oriented HRM practices impact social cli- although we measured employee performance at a different point in
mate, employee resilience, and employee performance, our study time from the antecedent variables, to fully ascertain whether social
helps identifying needs for development and other organizational climate and resilience mediates the relationship between well-being-
COOPER ET AL. 95

oriented HRM practices and employee performance, future research ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

might seek to use a cross-lagged panel design or consider experimen- We gratefully acknowledge financial supports from the National Natu-
tal designs. Fourth, our study focused on a relatively young group of ral Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 71372205 and 71673227).
workers (i.e., 85% were below 30 years of age). A number of studies
have found individuals' work-related motives may change with age ORCID
and the effect of HRM practices may vary with age (e.g., Kooij et al.,
Brian Cooper https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4242-3581
2013). Given that several of the well-being-oriented HRM practices
Fang Lee Cooke https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0337-6591
we selected for this study are development oriented, the effect of
these may not be as strong on older workers. Therefore, it is impor-
tant for future research to examine the strength of each of these well- RE FE RE NC ES
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COOPER ET AL. 97

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gains perspective on workplace partnership: Employee outcomes and include employee voice, HRM practices, and employee well-being.
the mediating role of the employment relations climate. Human Brian lectures in research methods and has extensive experience
Resource Management Journal, 26, 351–368.
in quantitative business research methods.
Van de Voorde, K., Paauwe, J., & van Veldhoven, M. (2012). Employee
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the area of foreign direct investment, the management of multina-
workforce in China? A study of the banking sector and implications for
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performance: The mediating role of job satisfaction and well-being. ment, and employment relations.
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ment Revue, 16, 164–173.
ash University. She is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Social
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resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. Sciences in Australia. Her research interests are in the area of
Academy of Management Journal, 39, 836–866. employment relations, gender studies, diversity management, stra-
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work-related well-being of Chinese hospital employees. The Interna-
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How to cite this article: Cooper B, Wang J, Bartram T,
Cooke FL. Well-being-oriented human resource management
AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHIES
practices and employee performance in the Chinese banking
sector: The role of social climate and resilience. Hum Resour
BRIAN COOPER is an Associate Professor in the Monash Busi-
Manage. 2019;58:85–97. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21934
ness School, Monash University, Australia. His research interests