Thriving in the face of burnout? The effects of wellbeing-oriented HRM on the relationship between workload, burnout, thriving and performance

Purpose: The development of sustainable employee-focused HRM approaches have grown in importance during and post-COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which wellbeing-oriented HRM practices can transform workers’ feelings of burnout to enable thriving, and subsequently enhance in-role employee performance in high workload contexts. Design/methodology/approach: This study draws on data gathered from 561 employees in bank branches operating in China across two time periods. The authors test the following hypotheses: (1) wellbeing-oriented HRM is positively related to employee thriving; (2) perceived workload is positively related to employee burnout; (3) thriving will mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance; (4) burnout will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; (5) thriving will mediate the relationship between workload and employee performance; and (6) burnout and thriving will sequentially mediate the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance. Findings: This study confirmed hypotheses 1–5. Hypothesis 6 was not confirmed. The authors find that thriving mediates the relationship between wellbeing-oriented HRM and employee performance, and burnout mediates the relationship between workload and employee performance. The authors also find workload was positively related to thriving (after controlling for burnout), consistent with the challenge–hindrance model of occupational stress. Originality/value: The study builds on growing evidence that employees can thrive at work even when in stressful situations by using conservation of resources theory to examine how wellbeing-oriented HRM practices act as protective resources against demanding work situations. Findings demonstrate alternative pathways through which wellbeing-oriented HRM can enhance employee performance via reducing burnout and enhancing thriving.