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

What is human sustainability, how is it defined and what are its main principles? There are no clear answers to these questions because human sustainability is a new field and research is limited.

In the academic world few scholars have used the term human sustainability in different ways, such as Goodland (2002), Spreitzer et al. (2012), and some more recent ones such as Barnes et al., (2023). In the management world a handful of companies mention the term human sustainability with varied explanations about its meaning, without cohesion and agreement. A search on Google regarding the term "human sustainability" suggests various ideas/concepts to explain what human sustainability which add to the confusion. There is a vague idea that human sustainability is related somehow to people, well-being etc without any clear definition based on scholarly research. So, how do we answer the above stated questions on human sustainability?

I will briefly answer these questions in this blog and elaborate with many other blogs to come. Thus, this blog is only a short introduction on human sustainability (HS) based on my PhD research (Meleti, 2020). Jeffrey Pfeffer, a famous management scholar, coined the term "human sustainability" and argued that human sustainability needs to take a more central position in business, research, education and public policy (2010, 2018). Inspired from Pfeffer, and interested on people and sustainability, I undertook my PhD research on human sustainability in order to advance research in the field. You can read more about my PhD research at the research section of this website, but just briefly, and for the purpose of understanding this blog, I will mention some information. I undertook this research at a university in the United Kingdom and interviewed 45 participants (20 academics and 25 administrators). I have analysed the interview data and based on that I defined human sustainability (HS), specified its main traits and created a framework, "The Cycle of Human Sustainability" which can be used for further research in higher education and other sectors such as banking, retail (Meleti, 2020).

In other words, based on the analysis of my research data (interviews) (Meleti, 2020), I went a step further, took the term of human sustainability Pfeffer (2010, 2018)coined and defined it, as well as specified its main principles. Hence I defined human sustainability as follows:

“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).  

Based on the analysis of the interview data, the main principles of human sustainability are the following: information, participation in decision-making, meaningful work, fair promotion, selection and evaluation, and respect. Although "respect" is one of the main findings, and as such one of the main principles of human sustainability, I believe that it is the most important one which can influence all the other main elements. For example, without respect, and the specific type of respect I discuss in my research which is based on the Kantian philosophy, employees are used as "means" as objects so the job is done. However, we should never use people (employees) only as means but always as "ends in themselves" because they should be respected due to their dignity. All employees are people who have dignity and managers need to have respect for them first as people (Meleti, 2020).

Consquently, if there is a respectful environment in the organization employees feel that respect and they are more satisfied and more willing to work and be productive. Furthermore, they also respect themselves and others. In a respectful environment the other elements of human sustainability, such as information sharing and participative decision-making can flourish enhancing human sustainability (HS) in the organization (Meleti, 2020).

It is important to emphasize that athough human sustainability (HS) focuses on people in organizations, on employees at all levels, it does not neglect profit because it is essential for the survival of the organization. As a matter of fact, and more research in the future can prove that, HS can enhance profit because employees who are respected and satisfied with their job are more productive, according to research, and consequently the organization becomes more profitable. However, I argue that, the priority of managers with an HS perspective as described in this blog, is not on profit but on respect. Therefore, profit comes as a consquence but it is not major reason we respect employees. In other words, managers should not respect employees because they need them to do the job and advance profit, but they should respect them because they are humans and have dignity and treat them well. This intention of the managers needs to be honest so employees appreciate it otherwise they understand it is fake and this cannot advance human sustainability (Meleti, 2020).

Therefore, there is a need for moral thinking between managers in organizations, who usually think in "utilitarian" terms often focusing on profit without considering issues regarding justice and equity. However, they encounter problems regarding the lack of this consideration (Bowie, 2013). The achievement of profit and financial goals are also considered as necessary (Bowie, 2013) although, as I argue, profit and financial goals come after respect as a consequence of it and not as the main reason for respecting employees. Considering organizations as moral communities, all people involved are moral beings, have dignity, autonomy, humanity and responsibility. However, not all forms of management in organizations are relevant to this moral view, and some could not function along these lines (i.e., top-down bureaucratic model of management) (Bowie, 2017).

My analysis of the interview material indicates that respect is limited in the University which, after restructuring, has become a more top-down bureaucratic hierarchical structure, which is less likely to be relevant to this moral view. The analysis suggests that usually disrespect takes place between functions (i.e., between academics and administrators) even if there are many instances of respect between the two workgroups. The analysis suggests other forms of disrespect (i.e., travelling at different classes although both workgroups travel to the same place for work). Hence, inequality is present, which is unfair, showing a lack of respect for the persons in lower grades. Disrespect towards the staff is not always dealt with in a a fair way, despite the "dignity at work" statements announced by the University which primarily refer to sexual harassment and bullying issues. However, the everyday acts of disrespect also need to be addressed and they are not. One of the consequences of disrespect, according to my analysis, is the cultivation of fear in the University (i.e., fear of honest expression, fear of innovation). Best coping mechanisms of this fear are trustworthy relationships (i.e., relationships with colleagues) and with unions (i.e., issues with pensions, salaries). (Meleti, 2020).

In conclusion, in this blog I defined human sustainability (HS) based on my research data and explained briefly its main principles focusing on the principle of respect which is particularly important and needs to be understood because it influences the other principles (Meleti, 2020).

Key take away for managers: Managers should treat employees with respect because they recognize that they are first people with dignity and necessitate the respect of others, and second workers who will do the job. A respectful environment is more likely to enhance human sustainability, whereas a disrespectful environment is more likely to discourage human sustainability in the organization.