Unveiling the nexus: exploring the relationship between UAE corporate social responsibility laws and employee sustainability

Purpose This study aims to examine the corporate social responsibility (CSR)-employee sustainability nexus from a legal perspective, focusing on CSR regulation in the UAE and its impact on workplace well-being, professional development and broader socioeconomic outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a narrative literature review to assess the literature, identify deficits in current knowledge and establish desk research findings on CSR’s effect on employee sustainability, particularly in the legal context of the UAE. This study uses a narrative literature review as the primary research method to analyze the CSR-employee sustainability relationship under UAE CSR legislation. Findings A key conclusion drawn from this study is the urgent need to transition CSR compliance from voluntary to mandatory based on legal and moral requirements. Increased transparency is needed not only on the corporate level but also to make real changes regarding employees’ sustainable activities. In this way, social responsibility will be placed into rules and regulations that will ensure corporations are able to advance initiatives that have the potential to foster employee well-being, engagement and long-term career development. This study also emphasizes the need to establish more precise and more enforceable boundaries for CSR. Corporate responsibility should no longer be seen as optional or negotiable but integrated as a fundamental aspect of business operations. Originality/value The contributions of this study are twofold. First, it deepens the insight into CSR as the system of governance, which is presented both as the voluntary management system that regulates the company’s relations with the external environment and as the legal framework enforced to address external challenges effectively. Second, it situates employee sustainability in this governance framework as a way of showing how the legal and institutional environments condition CSR-HRM-sustainability relationships. This approach not only fills critical research gaps but also provides actionable insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to improve organizational sustainability.