Definition and main principles of Human Sustainability (HS) - The principle of information

“Human sustainability is when organisations respect human beings as free, rational and responsible, include them in policy formulation and decision-making and encourage them to build mutual respect with all persons within and beyond their organisations” (Meleti, 2020, p. 36).  The main principles of human sustainability are the following: information, participation in decision-making, meaningful work, fair promotion, selection and evaluation, and respect (Meleti, 2020). This blog aims to briefly explain the principle of information in the organization (Meleti, 2020).

The type of information sharing or even its existence in an organization indicates the existence of human sustainability. In other words, how much does the organization shares important and even "sensitive" information among its employees and if yes how does this sharing takes place? Senior managers can build "empowered" workplaces to involve staff and support them in achieving their goals by making sure that there is access to certain opportunities, information, "support" and resources (Bergstedt & Wei, 2020). Pfeffer (1998) claims that "information sharing" is a fundamental element of "high-performance work systems" which means that employees need to know the main information of the organization they work for (i.e., financial information such as investment plans). This type of information sharing suggests that the organization trusts its staff, as well as empower its employees who are capable and trained to encourage "organizational performance" (Pfeffer, 1998). Of course, often extra training of employees is necessary to help then use and explain the information shared with them.

Unfortunately, sharing information about certain issues in organizations is not very extensive primarily for the following reasons: first, "information is power and sharing information diffuses that power" (Pfeffer, 1994, p. 95); second, information sharing could encourage information to seep out to other organizations, generating a weakness for the organization (Pfeffer, 1994). Consequently, organizations keep secrets from their employees and employees in return because they are not properly informed they cannot be expected to positively influence performance. Although there is some true in reserving some information this is not true for all information that is "hidden" from employees because research shows that "some information should be classified, but much that is classified should not be" (Whitney, 1994, p. 73). Consequently, it is important for managers in organizations to comprehend what research often shows, that when this information is available, employees view themselves as "partners" and are "empowered" in the sense that they want to do a better job (Case, 1995), they become more responsible and work more effectively, without too much supervision and orders from their supervisors.

My analysis of the interview material indicates that information sharing regarding major issues (i.e., University's distribution expenses, investment plans) is limited in the University. The majority of academics and administrators say that they do not know anything about major financial information in the School, College and University unless their role necessitates that knowledge. Consequently, the limited information does not enhance the human sustainability in the University which in order to be enhanced necessitates good information sharing among employees at the different levels (Meleti, 2020).

In conclusion, in this blog I briefly explained the principle of human sustainability named "information", in other words the way information sharing takes place if that exists in the organization. Thus, if there is a good information sharing in the organization it is more likely to enhance human sustainability in the organization and if there is limited information sharing it is more likely to discourage human sustainability in the organization (Meleti, 2020).

Key take away for managers: Managers who want to enhance human sustainability in their organizations should encourage the information sharing of various important issues of their organization (i.e., investment plans, finances) with all employees at the different departments and organizational levels. An organizational environment with a good information sharing on major issues is more likely to enhance human sustainability, whereas an organizational environment with a limited or non-existent information sharing is more likely to discourage human sustainability in the organization.