Definition of Human Sustainability Training

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Training is significant in organizations and there is a lot of scholarly research regarding the most appropriate training and its principles. The Academy of Management division of the natural environment has, as one of its goals, dealing with people in organizations for sustainability [1]. Moreover, the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals that are directly related to human sustainability training are the following: good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, peace, justice, and strong institutions [2].

My definition of human sustainability training (HST), which is based on my definition of human sustainability (HS) is the following:

“Organisations design for human sustainability training when they focus on respect for the dignity of their workers at all levels of the organization and create training programs that include issues both related and non-related to their current roles” [3].

In other words, my human sustainability training (HST) states that organizations need to provide training that also includes issues which are useful for the overall professional growth and career development of employees, such as the strengthening of their “rational capacities,” their physical welfare, and their moral well-being [4,5], even if those issues are not always directly related to their current tasks and responsibilities.

Training is very important in organizations so recognizing main competencies and training needs of employees is crucial [6]. Investing in a training program is expensive [7]. Research demonstrates that when employees feel that they are developing and learning, they are positively responding to various situations such as improving their job performance [8], better responding to various changes in the organization [9].

Therefore, employee training should be comprehensive and include topics that are both directly related and non-directly related to the employees’ current roles. For example, frontline staff should have training courses that are focused on practical matters (i.e., excel), as well as strategic matters (i.e., leadership courses). This is possible when managers respect their employees and listen to their training needs as well as adding to them topics that are beyond their role so they can develop and grow.