Do high performance work systems impair employee well-being? Evidence from a meta-analysis

Abstract

: This paper aims to examine the relationship between high-performance work systems and employee well-being and to test the moderating effect of cultural and industry differences on the relationship by conducting a meta-analysis based on data from 55 independent studies in 53 research papers with a total study sample size of 51,750. The results indicate that: （ 1 ） . A high performance work system has significant positive effect on all dimensions of employee well-being. i.e., a "consistent effect" rather than a "contradictory effect". （ 2 ） . Cultural contexts moderated the relationship between high-performance work systems and employee well-being. The positive association between employees' perceived high-performing work systems and subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and health well-being in the high power distance and collectivist cultural context was significantly stronger than that of employees with low power distance and individualistic tendencies. （ 3 ） . The industry in which the employees serve has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between perceived high-performing work systems and employee well-being. The positive association between high-performing work systems and subjective well-being was stronger for employees in the health care service industry than in the production service industry; however, the positive association between perceived high-performing work systems and health well-being was lower for employees in the health care service industry than in the production service industry. The findings suggest that the academic community should re-understand and examine the value of high-performance work systems.