Making sustainability work: learning, interpreting and enacting sustainability in everyday HR practice in Swedish municipalities

Abstract

Purpose – Despite growing interest in sustainable human resource management (HRM), limited attention has been given to how sustainability is enacted through everyday human resource (HR) practice. This study aims to examine how HR professionals define sustainability within HRM, interpret and position their role in sustainability work and engage in and reflect on learning related to sustainability in everyday practice. Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study draws on interviews with 13 municipal HR professionals in Sweden and workplace shadowing of eight. Using reflexive thematic analysis within a workplace learning perspective, this study explores how the meanings, roles and practices of sustainability unfolded in context. Findings – HR professionals view sustainability primarily as a moral and relational responsibility, rather than a technical or policy-driven task. Through situated practices of trust-building, ethical reflection and value-driven dialogue, they translated abstract goals into locally meaningful concerns. Their connective work bridged tensions across competing demands, acting less as policy implementers and more as relational enablers. Learning related to sustainability emerged informally, through negotiation, role experimentation and everyday interactions that shaped professional identities and required strong social competence. Practical implications – Organizations must recognize and support HR’s connective work by legitimizing reflexive practices, enabling HR to mediate across stakeholder groups and embedding supportive infrastructures for everyday workplace learning. Originality/value – This study advances sustainable HRM and workplace learning by shifting focus from formal strategies to HR’s relational and connective practices. It emphasizes how sustainability is enacted through micropractices and how HR professionals’ learning and identity work are integral to sustaining organizational change. © 2025 Maria Holmbom, Camilla Seitl and Ali Kazemi