An Empirical Study of Major Green HRM Practices in the IT Sector

Examining the Effectiveness of Green HRM Practices in the Indian IT Sector

by Ankit Kumar*, Dr. Saurabh Kant,

- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540

Volume 20, Issue No. 2, Apr 2023, Pages 356 - 360 (5)

Published by: Ignited Minds Journals


ABSTRACT

Green HRM has become a crucial corporate strategy in recent times due to the growing awareness of environmental issues faced by our planet. The human resource department plays a crucial role in implementing green initiatives within an organisation, and numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of green HRM practices. However, there is a lack of empirical research on green HRM practices in the Indian IT sector, considered the primary sector for such practices. Therefore, it is essential to study effective green HRM practices in the IT sector, and data was collected from 50 IT companies in the Central NCR through a self-structured questionnaire. The results showed that most companies are implementing green HRM practices, with video conferencing, electronic filing, work-from-home options, turning off air conditioners before leaving, and energy-efficient office spaces being the top five practices. This study highlights the importance of green HRM practices and their implementation in the IT sector.

KEYWORD

Green HRM, IT sector, empirical study, green initiatives, environmental issues, Indian IT sector, green HRM practices, data collection, video conferencing, electronic filing, work-from-home options, air conditioners, energy-efficient office spaces, implementation

INTRODUCTION

In this era, when everyone is concerned about a Healthy environment, we have seen environmental degradation, natural disaster, increment in greenhouse gases, and other environmental issues because the world is facing climate change. These changes lead to pollution and a threat to biodiversity. Many organisations aim to become environmentally sustainable firms due to Govt. regulation and pressures from other stakeholders [1]. Customers and workers, for example, have been pressing businesses to adopt more environmental responsibilities [2]. The solid waste policy of Brazil [3] and India's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, translated as "Collective Effort, Inclusive Development" (NITI Aayog, 2017), are examples of governments that have become more transparent and accountable about achieving environmental sustainability objectives. Because of the use of stakeholder and resource-based perspectives as theoretical foundations, significant progress has been accomplished in studying environmental sustainability and human resources. The process of aligning HRM strategy practices and systems with major corporate sustainability objectives, as well as with aims for employee empowerment and organisational culture, is what we refer to as GHRM or environmentally oriented sustainable HRM views [4]. In the twenty-first century, organisations have subtly or formally identified and addressed their environmental responsibilities in response to these challenges. Progressive businesses do so voluntarily [5]. Sustainability has risen to the forefront of global discourse. Recently, businesses have understood that the continuation of their operations depends on the availability of natural resources. Consequently, companies are revamping their operations by incorporating social and environmental factors into their business strategies[6]. When launching successful sustainability programmes, GHRM plays a vital role (Jackson et al., 2014). Green human resource management (GRHM) methods provide a realistic solution for businesses to generate human capital that may boost the firm's environmental performance (EP) and sustainable growth[7]. Over the last decade, Green HRM has garnered attention as an approach to green management that may help businesses lessen their environmental "footprint" and become more long-term stable. According to (Jabbour, 2013), Green HRM is concerned with the ‗systemic, planned alignment of typical human resource management practices with the organisation‘s environmental goals‘. Hiring, educating, rewarding, and creating a green workforce that understands and appreciates environmentally friendly attitudes, practises, and initiatives are the goal of green human resource management [9]. When developing good corporate sustainability programmes, GHRM is essential[10] (Jackson et al., 2014). Green HRM's propensity to generate a competitive edge makes it a vital practice in developing nations [11], [12]. The capacity of firms ever-increasing cost of energy forces businesses to evolve. Energy, transportation, and building efficiency adaptation require years or even decades[13]. Organisations are working on Green HRM because it helps to achieve advantages such as reduction in operational cost [14], [15], reduction in resources consumption [7], improvement of employee health [16], conserve energy and reduce waste [17], enhancing firm‘s overall productivity [18], time-saving [19], image building [12], attracting better employees and retention [20], customer loyalty [21], reduce employee carbon footprints [22], competitive advantage [23], tax reductions from the government [12] and many more. Considering the above advantages, it is imperative to determine the Green HRM practices those other organisations can follow. The primary objective of this paper is to know about effective Green HRM practices which IT companies follow in Central National Capital Region. Because most of the cities in CNCR are found polluted and the centre of IT companies. This paper may give an insight into GHRM practices which any organisation can efficiently perform.

METHODOLOGY

This study aimed to investigate the implementation level of green human resource management (HRM) practices in IT companies located in Central NCR. To achieve this objective, the researcher used a quantitative approach and distributed a self-structured questionnaire among employees working in IT companies. The questionnaire consisted of 25 statements taken from [24]–[27], which were designed to measure the extent of implementation of green HRM practices in the organisations. In addition, respondents were asked to make a checkmark against each statement to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement. To ensure a representative sample, the researcher used a random sampling technique to collect responses from IT company managers. A total of 247 employees completed the questionnaire, and the data was entered into Excel for analysis. The data analysis revealed that most IT company employees had a high level of agreement with the statements regarding green HRM practices. Furthermore, the findings of the descriptive statistics showed a high level of awareness and acceptance of green HRM practices among employees. The study has several implications for the IT industry in Central NCR. First, it highlights the importance of adopting green HRM practices to enhance sustainability, reduce environmental impact, and promote employee well-being. Organisations can also use the findings to develop strategies to improve their green HRM practices. Finally, the researcher used Zotero software to insert references into the paper. This ensured that

DATA ANALYSES AND DISCUSSION

Respondents' data were gathered for the research, and then Excel was employed to analyse the data. Table-1 shows the demographic data of the respondents and their organisations. Half of the respondents are 20-30 years old, and almost another half belong to 30-40 years old. Graduate people participate in this study (60%), and 80% of respondents have less than five years of company experience. Most respondents represent big companies and work as IT support in their organisations. Table l: Demographic profile of respondents and responding companies

Variables Category Frequency Percentage

Age Group 20-30 Year 125 50.61 31-40 Year 118 47.77 40 above 4 1.62 Gender Male 122 49.39 Female 125 50.61 Educational Qualification 12th 16 6.48 Diploma 2 0.81 Graduation 152 61.54 Post-graduation 77 31.17 Work Experience (Years)

0-5 206 83.40 6-10 26 10.53 11-15 12 4.86

16 & above 3 1.21 Department

HR 16 6.48 R&D 24 9.72

IT Support 127 51.42 Total number of employees

51-100 2 0.81 101-150 13 5.26

151 &above 187 75.71

Figure 1 Representation of Green HRM practices.

figure provides an overview of green HRM practices' applicability in Central NCR IT companies. The data shows that the level of implementation varies from 60 to 163, indicating a range of adherence to green HRM practices. The study identified nine green HRM practices that more than 50% of respondents followed. The results showed that video conferencing for business meetings was the most widely adopted practice, with 66% of organisations using this technology. In contrast, only 24% of the organisations provided bicycles for commuting. The findings suggest that most companies implement green HRM practices to some extent. The five majors green HRM practices identified in the study were video conferencing for business meetings, electronic filing, offering work-from-home options, turning off the air conditioner 30 minutes before leaving the office, and energy-efficient office spaces.

Table 2: Presentation of Seven Groups of Green HRM Practices.

green communication and awareness, and technology-based practices. The percentage values in parentheses indicate the proportion of organisations that have adopted a particular practice. On use bases, we find out that technology-based, energy conservation and waste reduction practices are the top three used practices, respectively. However, some of the organisations were found to be lagging in certain green HRM practices. The study highlights the need to provide greater awareness and education about the importance of green HRM practices for companies that need to catch up[28]. Overall, the study results suggest that IT companies in Central NCR are adopting green HRM practices to promote sustainability, reduce environmental impact, and enhance employee well-being. Organisations can use the findings to develop strategies to improve their green HRM practices and promote a culture of environmental responsibility. The study adds to the growing body of research on the importance of green HRM practices in modern organisations.

CONCLUSION

Developed and developing nations have felt the effects of the growing movement toward greener, more sustainable policies and policies protecting the planet's natural resources (Yusliza et al., 2017). Governments, businesses, and individuals have all started to take steps to reduce their impact on the environment, from reducing energy consumption to investing in renewable energy sources. The world increasingly recognises that a healthy environment is essential for our future prosperity and success. Therefore, this paper dialogues about the Green HRM practices followed by the IT sector. Green HRM focuses on practices that reduce the impact of business activities on the environment while at the same time promoting eco-friendly lifestyles among employees[29]. Results revealed that IT companies adopted green HRM practices in the Central NCR. Findings show the applicability of all GHRM practices used in this study. For example, video Conferencing for business meetings, E- filing, offering work from home option, turning off the AC before leaving the office (30 min. in advance), Energy-efficient office spaces, Reuse of office supplies, using a Paperless office, deleting unnecessary emails and Using Whiteboard instead of pen and paper are most adaptable practices. Additionally, organisations should recognise the efforts of their employees towards sustainable development and incentivise them to engage more actively in green HRM practices[4]. Management of these companies should make sure that employees have access to the resources and opportunities required to facilitate the implementation of green HRM practices. Furthermore, it is also essential to create incentives and reward Short time and small amounts of data are two of the main constraints in this investigation. This survey's findings, however, are meant to serve as a foundation for more examination of the topic. Developing more in-depth studies to address this topic's complexity is crucial in the future. In other sectors, this kind of research can be an essential first step in understanding the underlying causes of an issue and how to tackle it best. In addition, longitudinal studies are beneficial, as they allow for deeper insight into how the phenomenon changes over time.

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Corresponding Author Ankit Kumar*

Research Scholar, IMSAR, MDU Rohtak, India