Shaping Social Sustainability Through HR Practices: Actionable Strategies Toward a Human-Centered Approach

Positioned as both support functions and strategic partners, Human Resource (HR) functions have a unique opportunity to influence both strategy and daily practices, making them vital yet often underutilized contributors to advancing social sustainability in organizations. This study explores how Swedish municipal HR functions integrate social sustainability into their practices. By examining the challenges HR professionals encounter and the strategies they employ, this study seeks to identify practical strategies to enhance social sustainability within organizations. Based on in-depth interviews with 13 HR professionals from three Swedish municipalities, this study employs reflexive thematic analysis to analyze interview transcripts. The findings generate five interconnected themes illustrating the multifaceted ways HR professionals can influence social sustainability: i) advancing a promotive and holistic approach to health and well-being, ii) empowering managers to lead with a long-term mindset, iii) encouraging continuous learning and development, iv) fostering an inclusive organizational culture that promotes collective well-being, and v) navigating conflicting interests without decision-making power. By situating these practical strategies within the broader theoretical context of strategic and sustainable human resource management, this study underlines the role of HR functions in 1) fostering social sustainability by shaping workplace dialogue and practices toward a human-centered focus and 2) elevating social sustainability efforts from fragmented initiatives to embedded organizational priorities. This study contributes to sustainable human resource management research by illustrating how insights from humanistic management, centered on dignity, ethical reflection, and dialogue, can sustain sustainability work over time, embedding ethical responsibility into everyday HR practices.