HR Practices and the Well-Being of a Marginalized Workforce: A Review of Home Health Care Worker Well-Being Research

Abstract

Worker wellbeing is increasingly recognized as a critical factor influencing both organizational and societal outcomes; and is therefore of key interest to the discourse on Common Good Human Resource Management (HRM). This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on HRM practices and worker wellbeing in the context of home health care workers (HHCWs), a workforce characterized by gendered labour, low wages, and limited status. Despite the sector’s growing importance, we find a significant lack of research into how HRM influences wellbeing in marginalized and precarious contexts. Four critical gaps are identified: (1) limited attention to the gendered dimensions of wellbeing, (2) insufficient exploration of the interrelated nature of wellbeing dimensions, (3) a narrow organizational-level focus that overlooks external influences, and (4) a lack of emphasis on worker-centered outcomes. By addressing these gaps, this paper proposes a future research agenda that not only deepens our understanding of HHCWs’ wellbeing but also advances theoretical development of wellbeing in marginalized occupational settings.