Introduction

Human sustainability is a term that has been explained by several scholars. According to Ashby, Leat, and Hudson-Smith (2012), human sustainability refers to different means of providing high amount of food products together with beverages and improvement of healthy eating. Human sustainability enhances provision of support to people in order to live healthier lives. The healthier living of people has a vital influence on the development and sustainability of an organisation. This involves retention of human capital whereby health and nutrition of employees is promoted. It is clear that Successful organisations maintain their human capital through helping the employees to lead a healthy life. This essay seeks to explore the meaning of human sustainability theme as explained by different scholars. The essay also seeks to relate this theme with organisational change and sustainability. The essay will get the relationship through use of one change model and one change approach.

According to the argument put forth by Costanza, Graumlich, Steffen, Crumley, Dearing, Hibbard, andSchimel (2007), human sustainability refers to maintenance of human capital whereby organisations play a major role of helping their workers to live healthy lives. The author states that human capital should not be taken as a good between organisations and some individuals, but it should be taken as an individual’s private good. Moreover, Neumayer (2012) argues that, human sustainability should be maintained continually through carrying out some lifetime investments because human lifespan is very minimal compared to the life-span of societies. The author continues by saying that, there has to be investment in the form of education, as well as rewarding in order to motivate human capital and to get a chance to realize potential capabilities and talents of all human beings. As explained by Hatch, and Dyer (2004), human sustainability means commitment to encourage human being to lead healthier lives and there has to be involvement of decision-making in eradication of negative effects from the environment. This is where institutions encourage people to live healthier lives by providing them with some portfolio comprising of wholesome food products, as well as pleasurable beverages.

As postulated by Mani, Varghese, and Ganesh (2005)human sustainability is the act of improving the quality and value of people’s life as they continue to live within the boundaries of the environment.The author extends the definition and argues that human sustainability if not only maintenance of good life among the workers on an organisation, but it has to involve promotion of maternal health, safe birthing, and childhood care for human continuity. Moreover, Glover, Farris, Van Aken, andDoolen (2011) agreed with the argument of Tesone (2004) and identified human sustainability to entail actions conducted with the aim of advancing human condition whereby the rightful development ambitions of all human beings are met. This is done in combination with protection, preservation, and restoration of human dignity and integrity.Moreover, there has to be maintenance of healthy ecosystems in order to improve human survival. However, Labuschagne, Brent, and Van Erck (2005) was not left out in explaining human sustainability whereby they argued the theme to mean picking up the eminence of human life and in the process allow human being to live with the ability to provide support to the eco-system. The author also states that, human sustainability allows organizations to motivate their workers through provision of good nutrition, as well as physical activities, thus maintenance of high level of optimal health among the employees.

Crook, Todd, Combs,Woehr, and KetchenJr (2011) contributed in defining human sustainability and put forward the meaning of human sustainability to be a building up and regenerating process associated with personal, as well as professional possessions at work.However, it is necessary for organisations to understand the meaning and need of human sustainability in their operations, as this will enable them to achieve their goals and objectives. It is clear that, human sustainability has to be combined with meeting of the consumer interests for convenience and for nutritional purposes. According to the argument put forward by Kahn, andHumes (2009) human sustainability refers to a careful stewardship of human capital by organisations whereby the provide employees with healthier living and providing some connection between health human societies and developed economies for existing and prospective generations. The author stated that human capital is essential to organisational growth especially when staff is provided with education and nutrition opportunities in the workplace.

Human sustainability theme is closely related to organisational change and sustainability in that adequate good health among the employees leads to improved performance and realization of organisational goals and objectives. Change models refer to theories used by organisations to assess their changes and to understand the forces leading to the rise of those changes. Problem-solving model is among many models used in approaching organisational change.It is apparent that lack of human sustainability in an organisation is a major problem that hinders organisational change and sustainability(Costanza, et al. 2007). The moment employees are living a life that is not very healthy; the organisation fails to realize its goals from poor employees’ performance. Lack of human sustainability entails poor eating habits and provision of food products that lack all the nutrients to human beings.

Organisations require solving the problem of lack of sustainability by providing employees with education regarding healthy eating and nutrition. However, this will allow the organisation to realize sustainability and change in its performance. To solve the problem of obesity among the employees and their relatives, organisations should provide some food and nutrition training classes. This will enhance organisational sustainability as people will not only learn how to eat healthy and live a healthy life, but they will also learn how to maintain a healthy environment with reduced waste disposal. Once human sustainability is maintained among the employees, the organisation also realizes ecological and economical sustainability.

According to the argument put forth by Hatch, and Dyer (2004), human resource management together with organisational change leads to a positive change in the organisations sustainability. Moreover, Crook et al. (2011), state that, organisation unsustainability require some change initiatives that leads to long-term success of the respective change. However, when organisation works towards supporting improvement of healthy living among the employees, employees manage to work for a long period without developing health problems, thus advantage to an organisation as it easily realizes its goals and objectives. This allows the organisation to provide valuable incentives and salaries to the employees, thus motivating them to work more hard and achieve their personal as well as organisational goals. Management of employees guarantees employers sustainability of the business since employees are a very vital asset in the success and operation of any business.

Change approach is the method of dealing with change resistance in an organisation whereby employees fail to adapt the introduced change(Peeters, Dirix, &Sterckx, 2013).Participation and involvement is one of the change approaches used to solve the issue of resistance to change among employees of organisations. The approach entails engagement of employees in introduction of a certain change since the initiators of change fail to have the entire information necessary in designing the particular change. It is apparent that involvement of employees in a certain change effort enhances them to accept the change, change their attitude towards the change. Human sustainability is one of the methods of motivating employees to be productive and improve their performance(Glover, et al. 2011). This enhances an organization to become sustainable in relation to any change introduced. Once employees change their attitude towards a certain change, they engage into their duties and responsibility fully, thus allowing the business to become sustainable.

It is apparent that promotion of human sustainability leads to improvement of availability of meaningful resources hence organisations’ sustainability. The interests of employees have to be met first for the organisation to have improved performance whereby this entails meeting their financial, healthy and safety needs at work. Employees are highly likely to resist an introduced change especially when the employers or the business management team does not meet their interests and needs(Ashby, et al. 2012). Promotion of a healthy living and management of human capital enhances employees to feel motivated and resources to carry on with their duties and jobs in the workplace. Involvement of employees in organisations’ activity related education improves the changing organisaion’s sustainability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, human sustainability refers to being concerned about the healthy living of people through providing them with nutritious foods and beverages. It is apparent that healthy living and maintenance of healthy life is very important for productivity of people. However, Organisations should be concerned about the health of their employee in order to successfully maintain the human capital. It is clear that human sustainability is closely related to organisation’s change and sustainability in that maintenance of human capital leads to improved performance of an organisation. It is apparent that lack of sustainability among human capital is a major problem to an organization, thus through the use of problem solving model, the organisation manages to realize some change in its sustainability. Participation and involvement approach allows the organization to maintain human capital and to become sustainable since employees improve their performance.

References

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