Shaping a Socially Responsible Workforce Through <scp>SRHRM</scp> Practices: Investigating the Mediating Role of Work Meaningfulness and the Moderating Effect of Servant Leadership

ABSTRACT Despite the increased emphasis on motivating employees to go beyond their professions and positively impact society, our understanding of the factors that drive these social impact behaviors is still limited. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate how employee social impact behaviors (ESIB) in service organizations are promoted by socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) practices. Grounded in self‐determination theory, the study explores whether SRHRM influences ESIB through the mediating role of work meaningfulness (WM) and examines how servant leadership (SL) strengthens this relationship. Data from 268 service sector employees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were gathered via a structured, cross‐sectional survey. The results support the moderated mediation model. It also demonstrates that SRHRM significantly boosts ESIB, with its effect being more pronounced under high SL behavior. This study provides essential insights into how SL amplifies the effects of SRHRM on ESIB and offers practical recommendations for organizations seeking to develop a socially responsible workforce. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity of aligning HRM practices with corporate social responsibility objectives to achieve wider organizational and societal outcomes.